The Cursed Idle Mind and Bloody Instinct
by jaygoose
Summary: Cell discovers that waiting 10 days for his tournament to begin may even be a stretch for his superior abilities. Thus he decides to entertain himself with a certain Saiyan prince. Things don't go exactly as he planned. [Ch.13 & Epilogue added. Complete.]
1. Prologue: offer

**_The Cursed Idle Mind and Bloody Instinct_**

**Warning: **This fic is rated NC-17 (Well its rated R here because of obvious reasons...you'll have to go to another site to see the NC-17 rated one), because it involves two males eventually getting with the hot sweaty monkey/android sex. "Is that even possible?" you ask? I aim to prove it is. _/evil laugh/_

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Dragonball Z, Prince Vegeta, Perfect Cell or any other DBZ character I decide to use for my sick purposes. Muhahahahahahaaa!

**Author's Note: **I decided to write this after I read a Cell/Vegeta fic somewhere that never got finished. I had never thought of such an odd pairing until then. But of course the author of that story made it seem _oh so _obvious as all 'odd pairing' fics should try and achieve. So I thought that maybe I should give my best shot as well. Seeing as these two arrogant asses are my favorite characters in all of DBZdome. So, without further ado...my very first Cell/Vegeta Yaoi fic. (Gods that just sounds so...wrong. _/cackles/_)

**Prologue (The Offer)**

It was amazing just how quiet the desert could be. In the movies you'd always find the characters being scared witless by the lonely howls of coyotes or at least annoyed by the sounds of the countless odd little nocturnal creatures that inhabited the habitat.

That however, the bio mechanical android Cell, found to be a blatant lie. There hadn't been the faintest flicker of life about the perimeter of his beloved arena. Nothing to spark his interest and make the painfully boring hours, minutes, seconds he'd spent waiting any more bearable. Only the constant stream of nothingness and the vast cloudless night sky.

Now any normal human being would have long ago resorted to turning their gaze above and busying themselves by attempting to decipher the meaning of life by staring slack jawed at the stars.

But of course, Cell was neither normal nor human for that matter, as previously discussed, there as he had not the slightest interest in attaining the meaning of life or delighting in the so-called beauty of the masses of gases that perpetrated themselves as stars. One, being because he of course already knew the meaning of his life, to kill Son Goku and to destroy any and every peck of life on this miserable mud ball of a planet. Second, because who the fuck really cared about stars anyway?

So after giving up on the first two options, the android decided on another. He lowered his head and closed his slightly larger than normal pink eyes and fell in to a deep meditative state. Well, at first he did, but after a while something else occurred.

oo0oo

_When he finally opened his eyes he was quite pleased to say the least. There not five feet in front of him was the very Saiyan he'd been created to kill. Son Goku had a steely gaze focused solely on him. The spiky haired fighter had actually thought that he stood a chance with his flashy new power. Cell was aiming to show him that he was wrong. _

"_So, Goku!" He said breaking the silence. "Shall we begin?" He continued, his voice bubbling with amusement. _

_Goku was undeterred by the dramatic increase of Cell's power level and promptly fell into a slight crouch, hands raised in preparation, fingers curled ready for a round of hand to hand combat. _

_The match proceeded from there. Cell landed a series of bone crushing blows, of course never failing in taking time to watch the horrified looks on all the faces of Son Goku's little friends. The lavender haired Hanyou, Trunks's expression had to have been the most priceless of all. If his eyes had gotten any bigger Cell was almost sure they'd explode from his head. _

_They couldn't believe that their precious savior was losing. That for once the mighty Son Goku had met his match in him... the ultimate perfection. A Cheshire cat grin encompassed the white skinned android's face. He was going to win. But... alas it was all entirely too easy. Where was the fun in that?_

_His previous grin slowly turned into a pronounced frown. _

"_You've disappointed me Son Goku." Cell said as he closed in on his victim, who as this point was hutched over clutching a much abused abdominal region. _

"_To think, all of the trouble I went through preparing this tournament for us. And this is how I am repaid? With a half assed attempt at defeating me. I'd expected much better form you Goku." _

_The android's grin returned when his sensitive ears, curtsey of the Namek Piccolo, picked up the gasps and angry snorts of the other Z fighters. The flaxen haired man that he had his sadistic sights set on however had yet to make a peep. _

"_What's wrong, Goku..." _

_In the blink of an eye Cell was at the Saiyan's side and was landing a rib cracking knee into the other man. Goku landed on the ground in a excruciating heap. _

"_Am I too fast for you?" Cell taunted. _

_The beaten Saiyan lay writhing on the ground, the sounds of his comrades and his son's pleading echoed though out the arena. _

"_Too easy." The android said as he raised a ki charged hand. "But then again... it always is." _

_As Cell's ki collected in the palm of his hand, Goku began to stir. The disheveled Super Saiyan teetered to his feet. _

"_Ka...Me..." _

_It started out so low that Cell was scarcely sure that he had heard it. The mass murderer let out a disbelieving snort. _

"_You can't be serious?" He said dropping his hand. _

_But he was. Goku was very serious. _

"_Ha...Me..." _

_He was up on his feet steadily and now crouched in that oh so familiar pose. Weight evenly distributed on both feet, front leg further out in front of him, and a considerable amount of ki accumulating in the center of his cupped hands. _

"_Fool." Cell growled just as he charged up for another attack. _

_The armored bio android had opted to use his considerable speed for another sneak attack but upon reaching his destination he found that Son Goku was no longer there. _

"_Wha..."_

_Cell turned around just in time to witness the last thing he'd ever see. An extremely pissed Super Saiyan wielding a ridiculously charged Kamehameha Wave._

"_Ha." The blonde haired Saiyan uttered the last syllable with quiet malice and a raised brow that just screamed 'checkmate'. _

_Quite a few questions entered Cell's adrenaline pumped mind as layer after layer of flesh was incinerated off his body. How the hell had Goku disappeared and reappeared in the blink of an eye? And just where had he been hiding all the power? There was no time for that now however, because at the moment he too busy dying. _

"_No...No! It's impossible...It can't...I'm Perfect!" _

_oo0oo_

"Er...urgh...Ah!"

The android's face twisted into grimace after grimace of anguish before large magenta orbs popped open abruptly. He took a second to retrain his eyes to his surroundings. He was still at his arena. It was still dark, in the earliest hours of the morning. But most importantly he was still in one piece.

He steadied his breathing before his shoulders slouched and his arms dropped at his sides.

"It was dream." He finally uttered a loud. _"But I don't dream."_ He thought.

He resumed his former stance, his arms crossed over his broad chest, his eyes narrowed dangerously. He was quite annoyed by this recent development. Even though it had been a dream, it had seemed so very real.

The pale skinned android growled low in his throat. In his dream he had been so careless. He was going to have to be more alert when he finally did face Son Goku in...9 days. It had only been one day?

"Perhaps 10 days was too long to wait for the tournament." He said to no one in particular.

Dammit! Why had he given them so much time? The fact that he was even falling asleep now only proved it.

He looked around at the nothingness that surrounded his arena. He had started this entire thing in the first place for the purpose of having some fun. When you were a highly intelligent super powered alien bio android there was not much in the way of entertainment. Well, besides causing mass destruction and widespread chaos; things that he was damned good at no doubt. But still, there had to be something else to do while he waited for the tournament.

Cell sighed irritably. So he'd promised not to kill anything before the games; effectively meaning that was out. And he assumed that the agreement had included mass destruction as well. So what else was there?

He could train.

Fat lot of good that would do. Plus the fact that there was no one on this earth crazy enough to be his sparring partner. So...

"Now what?" He growled.

He definitely wasn't going to be trying sleep again anytime soon. What did humans see in such a horrendous waste of time anyway? Not to mention it having been one of the most terrifying experiences the android had ever had?

The green clad mechanical man turned his gaze to the heavens. Maybe he would go off in search of some _human _amusement?

oo0oo

It had taken the android about an hour or so at full speed but he had eventually come across something remotely resembling a city. Although upon touching down in the middle of it he immediately discovered that it was all but inhabited. Funny, he hadn't recalled absorbing this particular town out of existence.

"_Well, hell..."_ He thought as a peculiar little smile appeared on his face. _"Perhaps these humans are a lot smarter than I gave them credit for." _

The place was completely abandoned. Cell figured this from the fact that though it was completely devoid of people; the streets were relatively well kept. Nothing like the utter chaos that decorated those of the towns that he'd wiped out in his imperfect form. The cars that were still there were parked neatly in their proper spaces. None of the windows in the shops were busted out. There weren't entire outfits and random shoes cluttering the streets. Nope...perfectly normal. Perfectly empty. Perfectly boring. Perfectly...

"Great." Cell stopped walking abruptly and let out an irritate huff.

He found himself standing in the street of a deserted subdivision. A wonderful little suburban haunt complete with identically designed houses and neatly trimmed lawns that seemed to be inhabited by stiff little bearded people with pointy hats.

He had never wanted so badly to destroy something in all of his life.

Where **_was_** everyone?

The android shook his head and smiled wearily to himself. He supposed it was for the best. He had given his word. No killing or maiming and absolutely no blowing up anything.

Cell strode up the walk way of a random home and turned the door knob. It didn't budge.

"Why would it be locked?" He muttered to himself. "It's not as if there is anyone left to rob the place."

He suddenly grinned.

"_Well I suppose there is." _

And with a _gentle_ push the door tore off its hinges and fell violently onto the floor of the hallway. The sound echoed painfully throughout the entire neighborhood causing the android to raise an eye ridge before sauntering on inside.

oo0oo

The sound of running water ceased and dressed only in the towel wrapped around his waist, Cell paddled back into the bedroom. He paused to stare off into space for but a moment before a smile bloomed. He ran a hand through damp hair.

"_Finally,"_ he thought as he reached for his green speckled armor. _"Someone to play with." _

After redressing the android was now rounding the corner that led to the kitchen. He hardly glanced at his surrounding before heading for the refrigerator and grabbing a bottle of water. He leaned against the counter, his long ebony wings scraping lightly against the linoleum, and took a long swig from the container. His curiously glowing eyes focused on the shadows before him.

"My, my..." Cell said evenly. "I certainly didn't expect to see you again so soon."

When he didn't get a reply Cell feigned a pout.

"Oh Vegeta, it's not healthy to hold grudges you know." He added with chuckle.

"I didn't realize that you'd lowered yourself to breaking and entering Cell." A graveled voice finally spoke up. "Where _is_ your honor android?"

Cell nearly choked on his beverage.

"Honor you say?" He said looking up with widened eyes. "Oh Vegeta, you and that silly word again. It's brought you nothing but pain and embarrassment."

Cell ignored the answering snarl. "Besides, the humans were no longer here so I figured I might as well take advantage and treat myself to an little rest and relaxation. You wouldn't believe what a nice hot shower can do for one's mood."

"I didn't come here to chat, android." Vegeta seethed.

Cell finished his drink and chucked the bottle. "Well, I suppose you didn't." He said as he reached for his helm as it was resting on the kitchen counter.

The light of the oncoming morning had finally made its way through the kitchen windows and began casting eerie shadows. Making the prince look a lot more menacing than Cell truly believed he was.

"Well then, Prince Vegeta, what can I do you for?" He said as he finished adjusting the strap on his helmet.

"I want a rematch."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really. To hell with those idiotic games of yours. I want my turn now! I'll destroy you myself."

"And what makes you so special, little prince?" Cell said, a playful smirk spreading across his disturbingly handsome face. "Everyone else has agreed to play by the rules. Why should I grant you such a courtesy?"

"Grant me!"

The harsh sound of Vegeta's echo rung throughout the vacant house, Cell raised a brow ridge in response.

"I'm not asking for you to grant me anything, android. I just thought that it would be the honorable thing to warn you before I proceeded to pound you into the ground."

A highly amused chuckle burst from Cell's mouth. "Pound me into the ground? You can't be serious. Look at you; you barely survived our last encounter. Your own son had to come to your rescue. Don't waste my time."

As he turned his back to the enraged Saiyan, Cell had secretly hoped that this would be it. He'd thought that he'd pushed the right button to get the Prince that perfect shade of red, to get his face to first go from scandalized to incensed in an instant. And when the room began to shake and the world flared the way supernovas do at their end, the bio android knew he had hit the jackpot. If Vegeta threw the first punch then it wouldn't be his fault. He wouldn't have broken his word. It would be self defense. Vegeta would have started it and he would be the one to finish it.

Though, what Cell hadn't counted on was the fact that Vegeta not only got a lot faster when he was angry but a lot more powerful too. He had a few seconds to consider this however as he pulled himself out of the rubble of what used to be one of about nine of the demolished homes he's gone through after a particularly violent punch as a result of one extremely pissed Super Vegeta.

A bloodied grin encompassed the android's face as he leisurely made his way back up the road.

**_KT-CHT KT-CHT KT-CHT KT-CHT_**

Upon finally coming to a halt in front of the insanely enraged Saiyan Prince, Cell ran his indigo tinted tongue across stained front teeth. He regarded the other man briefly. The small prince's mane was a blinding shade of whitish-gold and his teal eyes blazed with a haunting calm. There was not of Vegeta's usual smirk, not of a sneer or frown. No expression what so ever on the Saiyan's face.

The android cocked his head to one side. "Hmm..." was his subdued reaction.

"I'm going to kill you." Vegeta said a strange sort of composure coming over him.

"Is that so?" Cell smiled straightening himself.

With the sun rising in the east and the stars barely visible in the west the two warriors chose their fighting stances.

"Have at me then, little one." The android sneered.

The shockwaves sent out by the two fighters' first blows leveled the remaining subdivision flat. Vegeta had blocked Cell's first attack...quite well actually. The prince hardly flinched. Though, Cell knew that the bone in the spiky haired man's forearm had at least been fractured.

"You're a fool." Cell said, standing his ground as Vegeta began to pace around him.

The paled skinned cyborg's eyes narrowed as he sized up the alien prince. He had changed since their last encounter. But how exactly, he was still unsure.

"Hn."

"Fine. If you're so eager to die, then that's fine by me."

The next sound heard was that of only a bit of Cell's very own ki blowing a rather large hole where Vegeta had once been standing. He hadn't expected the prince to be injured. Even the egotistical though lacking Ouji could have seen that coming from a mile away. But he had moved a lot faster than the android had expected. Mayhap it was time to put the seemingly new and improved _Super_ Vegeta to a real test.

It didn't take a second for Cell to detect Vegeta's ki and even less time before he was blasting forth in the prince's direction. He caught the flaxen haired Saiyan with a rib collapsing knee to the middle that sent him soaring backward. He'd reached downtown now, plowing through row after row of structures before finally settling at the bottom a medium sized office building. Not long after the dust had finally begun to settle, a blinding golden flash incinerated the rubble that had held him under and Vegeta was aloft once more.

Dark rivulets of blood poured down the Saiyan's face, threatening to run into his focused orbs. Yet his face remained unchanged. Not a sign of emotion. To Cell it was almost...disappointing.

"You've come all this way to die, Vegeta." Cell bellowed. "The least you could do is make it a bit more fun. You know how I love to see you angry."

"..."

Not a word. This wasn't like the prince at all. At this point he should have been screaming and damned near throwing a fit because of his obvious inferiority. But this Vegeta, he wasn't fun at all.

"Fine, die in silence. See if I give a damn." The android roared. "But make no mistake Saiyan, you will die."

"Enough talk, machine." Vegeta finally said. it was almost a relief to his opponent. "Make with the killing already, if you are truly capable."

"_Machine?" _Cell asked.

Vegeta had to keep from smirking at the look of distain that crossed the android's face.

"_How dare he?" _Cell mentally fumed._ "He was much more than a machine. He was...Perfection. No mere machine could claim such an honor." _

The smaller man had to keep from smiling as a slight twitch made it self visible on the crimson eyed creature's face. Though, he did a fairly better job at forcing down a yell as that same creature did his best at trying to drive his nose through his brain a second later. He soon found himself staring up at the rapidly lighting sky through watery eyes upon skidding to a complete stop in the middle of a now useless city street. He wearily sat up and stared ahead as Cell made his way toward him.

"If I wasn't convinced of it before, I am sure of it now." Cell growled. "You have to be the dumbest creature to have ever drawn breath. Carelessly angering a deranged mass murderer such as myself. What could you have possibly been thinking?"

Cell hauled the smaller fighter out of the trench of asphalt by the neckline of his blue spandex and greeted him with a demented smile.

"I've said it before, and that miserable whelp of yours got in my way, but this time there is no one to stop me." Cell said quietly. "Time to die, Vegeta!"

Cell had been dead set on ending the Super Saiyan prince right there, but thanks to some quick thinking on the battered man's part. All he got for his effort was a blast to the face forcing him to release Vegeta. His eyebrows would have been completely burned off if they hadn't been covered by his helm.

"You little..." The android growled rubbing furiously at his eyes.

Vegeta did bother to hide the cackle this time.

"You were careless, Android." The prince taunted, wiping the sweat and blood from his brow.

Cell being temporarily blinded, Vegeta made his move. He tried his best to find an opening, but becoming frustrated when the android refused to give one up. Cell being only able to detect the prince by his ki alone let loose with a melee of deadly accurate energy blasts that just so happened to barely miss him.

Finally getting his vision back, Cell stood in the midst off a ruined section of the city. It was amazing that there were still buildings standing.

"I'm going to incinerate you, Vegeta." Cell growled. "There will be nothing but charred monkey bones left!"

"You shouldn't tease, monster." Vegeta barked back, hidden behind a barely standing building, much to his chagrin, but he needed time to formulate a plan. "You forget you have a bit of Saiyan in you as well."

"Even I will admit that you creatures do have some merit." Cell replied swiftly. "Too bad your DNA is incapable of making the most of it."

Cell raised a ki charged palm in the direction of Vegeta's hiding place.

"You should know by now that you can't hide from me."

The building was instantly reduced to ashes. Leaving Cell once again scouting for the other man's position, this brief period of non location Vegeta took his chance. It was insanely suicidal long shot, but it had to be done, his honor as Saiyan was at stake.

In a flash of light, Cell found himself pinned from behind. Vegeta had wrapped himself securely around the raging android. After a fit of pointless anger Cell suddenly calmed. This only made the prince squeeze tighter, putting even more strain on an already fractured forearm.

"Alright." Cell said calmly, his breathing slowing.

Vegeta found himself releasing a breath he had not known he'd been holding. The air around them was thick with ash and smoke. The light of the newly risen sun was barely visible about them. Only the sound of the last bits of concrete and glass tumbling to the ground could be heard. It was stomach churningly eerie.

"What now, Vegeta." The pale skinned cyborg continued. "You've got me, so now what do you plan to do with me. You won't be able to keep me this way for long. So what is your brilliant plan?"

"Its time for you to die, android." Vegeta said in that same emotionless tone from early.

"_So we're back to this again."_ Cell thought. _"Can't have that now can we." _

He didn't even flinch when he felt the dramatic increase of the Saiyan's ki. He was however, surprised by the amount that he found bubbling in the little prince. In their exchange a day or so ago, he'd not sensed so much power buried in the man. At that point, Trunks had seemed to have even out done the man in pure strength. But it was all making sense now. Trunks had been foolish of course. A transformation based on brute strength was insufficient in a battle against him, the perfect warrior. It would seem that at the time of he and the prince's battle the Saiyan had been well aware of the fact. There was no way that this power had just surfaced over night. Right? Thought his talk with Trunks after the fact had given him the impression that it was not at all impossible, but...

There was no time for that now. He had to find a way to get this psycho...now even suicidal monkey off his back. It hadn't taken Cell a second to discover what it was that Vegeta was trying to do. He was building a large amount of ki but he wasn't pushing it outward as was the usual course. No... the fool was keeping it all in. This of course could only result in on thing: An explosion of massive proportions. Though, he was the perfect weapon, even he couldn't survive a thing like that. He and his cybernetic brothers and sister had been built with something of the sort within them as well. Although, it certainly wasn't to be used if they planned on walking away from the experience.

The android's magenta orbs narrowed menacingly and an evil grin erupted. Oh, no. A fighter such as himself could not be subdued by such trivialities as having his arms and legs pinned behind him. He was build of much trickier stuff than that.

"Vegeta..." Cell sneered. His voice held a hint of warning. "I would not attempt this if I were you."

"Shut up, android." The Saiyan said, his gaze held steadily ahead. "You will die by my hand today. I am finished listening to you." _"I will not allow myself to be manipulated again."_ "I made you and I will be the one to unmake you!"

"Very well..."

oo0oo

The next 5 to 10 minutes or so were those of reexamination for both fighters. Vegeta found that his body was humming with unimaginable pain. He was on his back, dark eyes blinking back tears as he tired to focus on the dust clouds that floating above.

He was breathing...barely. This meant of course that he was still alive. He'd been dead once before. He certainly couldn't count breathing among the things that he'd been responsible for.

He next tried to move his aching body. No luck there. He was as weak as an Earthling kitten. Beside the fact that his body was currently molded into a hunk of metal. He couldn't be entirely sure at this point but he suspected that it was a car or something of the sort. He let out a defeated sigh.

"Fucking android." He muttered before falling into darkness.

oo0oo

Some where in the rubble of what was once a fairly descent apartment building, Cell began to stir. He pried himself off of a spewing water pipe, the hole it'd created healing almost instantly. His weighted head fell forward and he found himself too weak to hold it up. My, this was an interesting predicament. He'd never felt this way. Well he'd never used his energy field before either. He'd have to calculate for this next time. He lifted his hands to his head and found that he had only one. Well... it would seem that his exchange with the Saiyan had left him missing an arm...Again.

"Fucking Saiyan." He muttered.

Within moments, a newly grown arm gushed from the android's bloodied stump and his flexed new fingers. He once again reached up for his head piece, annoyed by the fact that the helm as in ruins. He lacked the necessary spare Ki now to regrow the armor, so he simply pulled it off and tossed it aside. He'd lost so much power. He would definitely have to calculate for this if he ever used that technique again.

Thought it could have been the backlash of the two colliding auras that had caused the most damage. They had been entirely too close to attempt a move such as that, but Cell had found himself with out any other options.

He pulled himself upright. A descent measure of his strength returning to him and he began scanning for ki. The Saiyan was still alive. Good.

oo0oo

When Vegeta opened his eyes again he was in the same position as he'd been before. No, it wasn't a bad dream. He'd failed again. He could feel the android's ki. It was very near in fact. After psyching himself up enough he was able to pry his body from the roof of the car and sit upright.

He head was swimming with pain and he was forced to squint his eyes to keep out the blinding, nausea inducing light. He was shaking and sweating uncontrollably. He hadn't expected to survive that attack and the after effects were unbearable.

After finally cracking an eyelid open he peered upward, putting an awful strain on his abused neck. There, not two stories up, perched on the edge of a hole the prince's body had undoubtedly made on the way down was that accursed android.

His head piece was missing leaving violet stained ashen locks exposed. One side of his whitish face was covered in his own blood. And the remaining armor that covered the rest of his body was beaten and cracked covered in dirt and scorch marks. Long legs and yellow boot clad feet dangled in front of him and he made no sign to move. He looked comfortable, almost human. It was unnerving really.

"Still breathing I see." Cell's accented voice echoed throughout the area, his eyes narrowed. "That was stupid even for you, Vegeta."

The alien prince said nothing. He was too busy seething at the sight of the bio mechanical menace. His eyes were locked on the android the entire time it took for the bastard to drop from is perch onto the hood of the car he was currently occupying. The metal creaked under the new weight and the pale haired creature just stood there with his arms crossed, pinning him with a unsettling pink stare.

Cell's face was steel, well that was until the first snicker broke loose. A grin followed then outright laughter. Vegeta has on his feet in seconds, a growl emerging from his throat.

"What the hell is wrong with you...You monster!" Vegeta snarled.

Cell's laughter stopped abruptly and his steely expression was back once again.

"Strange words coming from you, Prince Vegeta. I am only what you helped me become."

That had been a cheap shot.

"Bastard."

"Heh..."

The android stepped off of the car onto much firmer ground. Vegeta followed hesitantly, still unsteady on his feet.

"Not to worry, dear prince." Cell said, his back still turned to the other man. "I have no intention of killing you."

"How kind." The small Saiyan growled.

Even the prince had to admit that he was beaten at this point. Though Cell had been weakened by their fight, the android's power still outpaced his own.

Suddenly the tall winged creature turned around with an almost charming smile on his face.

"I'd like to make you an offer, Saiyan." He said boldly and strange look in his eyes.

The Prince raised a brow at the sudden statement. "What kind of offer?"

"You gave me quite a fight, little one. I must say that I was extremely surprised. I mean after that first debacle... "

Cell could instantly see the other man's hackles raise at the clear derision of his height, or lack there of.

"And it has been terrible boring around here lately..."

"Get to the point."

"How would you like to be my sparring partner?"

"No."

Cell was taken aback to say the least.

"Well, that wasn't the response I was hoping for."

"And I'm supposed to care because?" Vegeta replied, wincing briefly.

**_sigh_**

"I thought you wanted to defeat me? This could be an excellent chance for us to get a better grasp of each other's fighting styles."

"You have no style, android." Vegeta said, flopping to the ground ungracefully. "You fight with all the skill of a hyperactive child." He added whiled rubbing circles on his temples.

"Then you could teach me."

"Teach you!" The raven haired prince howled. "Are you mad!"

Cell didn't seem phased at all this time. He rolled his eyes upward.

"Vegeta, Vegeta, Vegeta." He sighed. "This is an opportunity not a trick. It's up to you what you make of it. I'm bored. And so are you it seems. I mean why else would you continue to engage me in these pointless displays of your inferiority?"

Vegeta's head snapped up.

"If you're trying to goad me to your side, android, you're failing miserably." Vegeta barked irritably before spiting out some blood.

"Fine. I'm sorry. Are you happy now?"

The android was getting desperate. It was painfully obvious at this point. Was he really that bored?

"You're trying to destroy the planet that I happened to be living on at the moment as well as my rival." The Prince said calmly. "Why would I help you gain the skills to achieve those goals?"

"Because there is always the chance that you'll gain the skills to stop me."

Vegeta let loose undignified snort and stood on his feet. He was falling for it again. What was with him when it came to this bastard?

"Fine, android." He said adjusting his gloves. "I'll accept your offer. It's not like I have anything better to do."

"Good." Cell said with a smile. "See you tomorrow morning then."

"Hn."

Cell watched as the temperamental prince left in blaze of whitish gold light. He wasn't Son Goku, but he would do for now.

_**(to be continued...Also special thanks to Agent and Macha!)**_


	2. Chapter One: tease

**_The Cursed Idle Mind and Bloody Instinct_**

****

**Disclaimer: **Once again I don't own Vegeta, Cell or anything else Dragonball Z related. **_sigh_**

**Chapter One (Tease)**

"How long are you planning on keeping me waiting, android?"

When he didn't get so much as a twitch in response Vegeta only got even more pissed. He'd come all this way to spar with the idiot android. It was his idea in the first place. And he couldn't even tear himself away from his pointless napping to get up and fight.

"Cell…" he said leaning in closer to the lounging cyborg.

They were both sitting cross-legged in the center of Cell's arena. The mass murderer was in the midst of deep meditation; the prince was nowhere near as peaceful.

"…"

Not a flinch.

Pacing didn't help pass the time. And even thoughts brutally murdering the android didn't help either. So he found himself once again sitting on his ass, right in front of Cell trying his best to mimic the creature's current state.

No such luck.

Vegeta cracked open a coffee colored orb. Then the other. This was getting old fast. He let out an irritated huff. Why was he even here anyway? Stupid fucking android and his idiotic games. Fighting was not a game. It was never a game. But what could he expect from an over grown child.

An overgrown child with power the likes that he had never seen.

"Stolen power." He scoffed aloud.

He'd almost missed the quirk of the android's pale lips.

"Cell…"

The winged creature's face was blank not a moment later, back into his meditation yet again.

The smaller man just growled and began to go on and on about 'baka androids and stupid games and how he was going to blow up this entire fucking arena if they didn't get on with it' under his breath. Unfortunately, however all the grumbling in the world didn't seem to be able to snap the white skinned droid from his trance. Well, not until the man in question was damned ready to me snapped out of it. That happened to be the same time that Vegeta had finally had enough and seized the android's shoulders and commenced to shake the merry hell out of him.

"Cell!" He screamed. "Wake up you pasty skinned asshole!"

After exhausting his one true moment of rage, Vegeta settled albeit uncomfortably back into his silent seethe fest. And that was when he noticed the grin.

"My, my, Vegeta." Cell said, his eyes still closed. "You do have quite a temper."

The highly annoyed Prince soon found himself staring back into a pair of amused pink eyes. But just as suddenly Cell sprung to his feet, leaving Vegeta with a close up view of the black plates the covered the android's legs, his brow lowered in un-amusement and climbed wearily to his feet.

Why the hell was he putting up with this? Ah, yes, his pride. He wanted to defeat Cell and have everyone bow at his feet and quiver in acknowledgement of his might. Yeah…that. Fucking pride. What had it really gotten him lately anyway?

**_sigh_**

Cell took in a great lung full of fresh morning air before saying:

"I've come up with a brilliant idea for our first day of training." Cell then erupted in a voice that could almost be mistaken as giddy. "This way please."

The android then headed to the edge of the arena and hopped off the side and began striding leisurely in the direction of the forest.

_Where the hell was he going?_

**_Another sigh_**

****

"Cell…"

"Shut up and c'mon, Vegeta."

The volatile Saiyan's eyes widened in outrage and he almost exploded in a fury of light and energy, but instead he merely expelled the gulp of air he'd taken in his indignation and slouched dismally. He rolled his eyes upward and followed. He did want to defeat this Kamidamned bastard child of Gero's didn't he?

oo0oo

An aristocratic nose twitched slightly at the odor of its new environment. You'd think that a creature as hearty as a Saiyan would be familiar with the smells that accompanied a forest. Well, when you lived in a house full of geniuses that could build one a Gravity machine to train in, the sights as well as the smells of the out doors tended to fade into non-importance.

Could it be that Vegeta was feeling a tad uneasy with his new surroundings? No defiantly not. He had been a planet purger in Frieza's army and had camped in the forests of many a planet. All with much more threatening wildlife than this pathetic planet could hope to muster. No, in fact, loath as he was to admit it, it was the company that he was currently keeping that had the small statured Saiyan at unrest. He keep his eyes on his companion, the green armored droid didn't seem to find him threatening in the least. At the moment Cell was even humming…as he striped of everything he was wearing.

_"That stuff comes off?"_ Vegeta's mind wondered pointlessly. Obviously it did. _"Wait a minute…" _

"What the hell are you doing android?!" The prince yelled while quickly turning away, effectively hiding the fiery blush that had burned its way across his ruddy face.

Cell only snorted in reply and returned his attention back to undressing. But curiosity however had gotten the best of the prince. He wasn't a stranger to naked men; Kakarot for instance seemed to think that everyone he knew had to have the pleasure of seeing his bare backside at least once. But random, unwarranted nakedness had always had this affect on Vegeta. Perhaps, Cell's newly discovered penchant for the practice had been inherited from the big baka. However, upon chancing a glance over his shoulder, he learned of something else that Cell had gained from Saiyan DNA. Out of the corner of his eye, Vegeta saw the flick of what could only have been a Saiyan tail.

This new development caused him to turn around completely. He stared in awe of the fuzzy appendage. It was the same color as the android's messy ashen hair. Cell had a tail. A Saiyan tail. Bastard.

Thus, thoughts of his own tail entered the prince's mind. He missed his tail.

The prince's interested gaze rose upward toward Cell's powerful back and focused on a large round scar in the center. If he'd been still _dressed _that would have been where his tail would have been located.

_"So that damned appendage is just as easily removed as well?"_ Vegeta filed the bit of information away.

"I didn't sign up for nude wrestling, Cell." The prince barked. He tried his best to focus on the android's face once he'd turned around. He didn't want the bastard to get the wrong idea and all.

"Nervous, Vegeta?" Cell chuckled. "Not to worry, I didn't have anything like that planned. Not for today anyway."

Vegeta raised a brow, though he chose not to speak on the last comment. "Then what the hell are you doing?"

"I thought that maybe a change of wardrobe would be in order." The white haired creature continued. "You might want to take off that armor of yours as well. We do want this to be fair and all don't we?"

A pair of apprehensive dark brown eyes sized up the android. Vegeta's steely gaze faltered however once the air around Cell began to shimmer and the man's once bare skin was covered in a familiar training Gi. One that looked suspiciously like one spiky haired idiot's, minus the coloring. No, Cell had chosen to stick to his usual colors. Instead of that horrendous orange and blue monstrosity Kakarot was so fond of, Cell's was green and black. The biomechanical android would have been hardly recognizable if Vegeta hadn't seen the transformation for himself. The prince sneered as he watched the android's tail coil protectively around his waist. Cell noticed this of course.

"Missing your tail, Prince?" he asked innocently. "Perhaps tomorrow I'll show you how to grow it back."

Vegeta's eyes widened in shock; there was a way to grow his much missed tail back? He sighed and complied begrudgingly with the android's request and removed the stretchy armor that he wore over his torso, leaving only his blue spandex and white gloves and boots.

"We're fighting here?" He asked.

A grin sprung on Cell's face. "Yes." He said amusedly. "I thought that we'd try some in fighting. It isn't to close for you is it, Vegeta?"

"Of course not," The prince barked. "I just don't want to hear your whining when I beat the crap out of you."

"You just might." The android continued. "To make things more interesting we should lower our kis. Perhaps to a human level. We could focus more on technique than power that way."

"Human level?"

Cell nodded. "It will be so much more fun."

"I'm not here to have fun."

"But I am."

**_sigh_**

Was there even a point?

"Fine." Vegeta said crouching into a fighting stance. "The sooner we get this over with the sooner I can destroy you."

"That's the spirit." Cell smiled. "The rules are as follows. No ki attacks above level three and no flying. I wouldn't advise it around here anyway."

"Fine." Vegeta growled.

"Wonderful, let's begin."

oo0oo

Hidden completely behind a very large tree, Vegeta didn't bother to suppress a face splitting grin. This was actually somewhat enjoyable that was if you ignored the fact that it was stupid and pointless. Although, he would never tell the android that. He loathed talking to the mechanical idiot as it was. Come to think of it, he didn't ever intend on telling anyone about this actually.

Yesterday when he'd left the android's company Kakarot had immediately appeared in front of him looking all wide eyed and fidgety wondering where he'd gone to and why he'd felt Cell as well as the prince's kis sky rocketing.

To which the prince responded with a growl and a "Mind your own business baka!" before politely (his moods changed with the wind lately) assuring him that everything was fine and not that he cared or anything but that the android hadn't killed anyone. The idiot just grinned and gave him a worried look and asked him to be careful. That had not ended well. Because at that point Vegeta had exploded in a blind rage and told the third class clown were he could shove his advice and went on to exclaim how he was going to be the one to destroy Cell and that he would do well to stay out of his way. That had told him.

Now he found himself back in the white haired cyborg's company again…Playing. That was all that it could be described as. This was not training. Not any type that he'd ever participated in.

The flame haired royal's ears perked up at the sound of a twig snapping and he instantaneously charged from behind the tree and sent a well aimed ki blast hurtling towards the noise.

A tree went up in flames and fell crashing to the ground. Vegeta was there mere seconds later admiring his handy work.

"Where are you, android?!" He called. "Heh…You're getting sloppy."

"Indeed. You almost had me that time." A highly amused chuckle.

A thin layer of smoke wafted about and the faint crackling of the burning tree was starting to annoy him. He did however take the time to notice the distinct sensation of an approaching ki attack and stepped to the side just in time for it to miss him and go whizzing past. Unfortunately, he was also just in time to be tackled pretty violently by a giggling android.

Vegeta didn't even get the chance to curse or to even try to figure out why the hell Cell was sniggering like an abnormally large toddler before the he hit the ground tumbling. The cackling face of the android remained constant as the sky spun in and out of his line of sight. Rocks and tree limbs made minced meat of his back tearing his spandex uniform to ribbons. The two of them landed at the bottom of a steep hill with Cell pinning him to the ground with a demented grin on his face. The android's Namekian inherited canines glinted menacingly down at him.

"Get off me you deranged bastard!" Vegeta said trying his best to remain calm.

Cell leaned down brushing his nose against the blushing skin on Vegeta's face. His warm breath made the hairs on the man's neck stand up as he whispered in the Saiyan's ear. "What if I don't want to?"

Vegeta was unendingly ashamed of the way his belly twisted in response.

With a blinding flash of ki and an unnecessarily hard shove Vegeta was on feet and Cell had taken out yet another tree. The mass murder's head was leaning forward and the prince could hear the beginnings of laughter emanating from the demon's throat. Cell's head lolled back as a mighty cackle broke forth.

Vegeta looked on in bemused silence. He'd never encountered anything like this in his travels. And that was saying something. Frieza was twisted but the tyrant had made a point to keep most of his odd tendencies well hidden.

Cell seemed to be another story all together, Ice-jin DNA aside. This was what had the world pissing its self. This was the most powerful fighter on Earth. And he'd thought that he'd been disappointed with Kakarot.

Cell's laughter died as quickly as it came and he continued to sit there grinning. He didn't even seem to notice the rapidly healing gash over his left eye. Vegeta was still standing watching the android and waiting for the fight to go on at any moment, when he discovered that Cell had no intention of continuing. He dropped his hands hesitantly.

"What hell is wrong with you?" The prince sneered.

"Oh sit down and relax. You've already lost." Cell said his breathing steadying.

"Lost?!"

"Yes. You lost. You just raised you ki far above level three."

Vegeta's mouth dropped open before he could catch himself and he let loose an irritated growl. Cell just kept on grinning. Son of a…

"You should've have seen your face." The android added.

…bitch.

All the anger drained from the prince instantly. Gods, what was the point? He'd lost, fair and square. It was then that something in him snapped. He'd given up? He was Vegeta, the Prince of fucking Saiyans and he'd give up? What was it about this abomination that had him behaving this way? Was he actually afraid of this…_thing?_ No fucking machine, no matter how unpredictably idiotic, was going to get the best of the Prince of Saiyans.

He watched the android climb to his feet, gritting his teeth to the point of breaking and stifled the grin that threatened to bloom when he caught sight of _an opening_.

He would defeat this fucking android… at all costs.

The prince's view turned predatory as he thought things through. He wondered just how much of Cell's power lay in that armor of his. He wondered if the android knew that his power level was just low enough that grabbing his tail in just the right place could cripple him. Vegeta also wondered if the android even realized that he was putting out the most interesting smell. Cell was more Saiyan then he probably realized.

And he, the Prince of _their_ kind planned on using this newfound information to his utmost advantage.

**_(to be continued…)_**


	3. Chapter Two: chase

**_The Cursed Idle Mind and Bloody Instinct_**

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**Disclaimer: **I don't own Dragonball Z people. I'm just borrowing it and twisting it into a more fun, kinkier version of its self.

**Chapter Two (chase)**

It had all started out so innocent; just a bit of fun between two bitter enemies. The prince had been way too uptight during their last battle and all Cell had wanted to do was loosen him up a little. And that was when it had all gone to hell.

Cell returned his attention back to his sparring partner. And he was a bit unnerved by what he saw, though he did his best (which was pretty damned flawless with him being an android and all) to hide this however. Vegeta was standing there, his clothes in tatters and hanging by invisible threads, bear chested and staring.

No, that could almost be considered as leering. Cell watched him suspiciously.

"You alright, Saiyan?"

"Oh, I'm just peachy." The leering prince deadpanned.

"Oh--kay, how about we move on to the next round. What do you say?" Cell said cautiously.

"Why don't we?"

The next few moments saw the breaking of Cell's seemingly unbreakable veneer. This one moment in time occurred when Vegeta stalked toward him, a sinister gleam in his eyes. The bewildered android had once thought that he was the only one capable of causing such a bone chilling feeling, it seemed however that he was wrong.

"What's wrong, android?" Vegeta purred. "You aren't afraid, are you?"

Before he could even muster the utter outrage to respond however, he found himself on his knees, eyes bulging, mouth gaping in sheer unadulterated pain. A rumbling chuckle resounded from above him and he looked up to see the grinning face of the Saiyan Prince.

"You have no idea what I'm doing to you, do you android?"

"Y…Ahhhh!"

The crafty prince had somehow gotten a hold of his tail and was squeezing it for all he was worth.

_"What the hell…what the hell!" _Cell's mind raced.

"Saiyan tails are very sensitive android." Vegeta finally said. "It takes years to build up enough tolerance to withstand this type of abuse and stolen power aside, you lack the experience to defend against this."

He leaned down and said the next bit into Cell's ear. "Tails also happen to be the key to one's power, when you have one that is. Though, when one has power levels as high as ours, it usually isn't a problem. Too bad you lowered yours for our little game though. It left you ridiculously vulnerable."

The prince turned to look in the android's wide magenta orbs.

"Don't believe this is happening, huh?" He asked his voice still a raspy whisper. "You have some of my cells with in you, right? Search you mind, android. You know what I say is true."

Cell's heart sank. He didn't have to dig through his collection of the Z fighter's knowledge to know that Vegeta was telling the truth. The pain was real enough. He tried in vain to flash his ki but none came.

"Heh…Now its time to play a new game." The dark prince said, his gravely voice making the words sound all the more sinister. "It's called _'Watch Your Ass'_."

This blood freezing remark was followed by a sickening crack and the release of Cell's now numbing appendage. Vegeta backed away from the now outwardly trembling cyborg and unleashed a wicked grin.

"I suggest you start running…sweetmeat."

"You can't be serious?" Cell asked nervously.

"You should think twice before you tease a full blooded Saiyan." Vegeta purred. "10…9…8…"

Cell stumbled clumsily to his feet, never taking his eyes of off the deranged Saiyan prince.

"7…Go! It'll be more **_fun_** if you play hard to get…6…"

oo0oo

And that was how he found himself running madly through the forest trying to hide from an overly aroused Prince of Saiyans. It was supposed to have just been a little fun and games. Where exactly had it gone so terribly wrong? Perhaps, this was all his fault. Or perhaps that damned Dr. Gero. He had been the one to design such a flawless creature such as himself in the first place.

The android groaned at himself for the thought. This was no time to revel in his perfection. His ass was in danger here. Damn those fucking Saiyans and their sexual apathy. They didn't seem to care where they stuck their nether regions.

Things were made all the more difficult by the fact that he couldn't raise his ki. That damned Saiyan had done something to his tail; he'd pinched a nerve somehow.

_"Stupid, stupid, stupid."_

He should have seen this coming. He was supposed to be the perfect fighter. He should have been prepared.

Cell crouched low in a ditch along side a hill and perked up slightly pointed ears. He had never been more thankful for his Namekian heritage until now. He could hear the prince stalking near by. But there was no real point in hiding now was there? He knew the prince would be able to sense his ki, no matter how pathetically low it was at the moment.

"I know you're there, android." Vegeta called. "You can't hide from me."

What was it with this bastard? He hadn't really meant to give the prince the wrong idea. It was just a joke. A harmlessly little act to throw him off balance enough so that he could win their little game. Now Vegeta seemed to be dead set on making him pay for it.

Cell took an excruciatingly slow step forward. Maybe he still had a chance. There was an area of thick brush near by, he could make a run for it and…

Before he even got five feet, the prince appeared in front of him startling him enough to emit a very unvillianly screech and to fall flat on that ass that Vegeta seemed so insistent on having.

"Get away from me you fucking psycho!" The white haired android yelled before taking off in the opposite direction.

The Saiyan no Ouji snickered uncharacteristically. It really was more fun when they played hard to get.

"Cell…" he started as he began leisurely walking after the frightened man. "It won't be nearly as bad as you think."

But being a good distance away at this point the man in question highly doubted that he'd enjoy being taken by a sex crazed Saiyan prince. No, not at all. This was rapidly becoming not as fun as Cell had first intended.

"You might even enjoy it."

That last comment had sounded off right into his ear he could practically feel the breath on his neck. The biomechanical creature jumped when her felt hands where they had no right to be and stumble backward, falling down completely. Upon looking around however he saw that the prince was no where to be found.

Highly disturbing laughter echoed around him. An icy winded chilled the thin layer of perspiration on the android's over heated skin. He lay there sprawled out on the ground. Clothes stained with water and mud, full of rips and tears caused by numerous trees he'd snagged during his sprint. His heart was pounding and try as he might he could not ignore the warmth that that accursed touch had ignited in him.

_"No, no, no!"_ His mind raged. _"You will not succumb to that depraved beast."_

He couldn't think clearly. He had to try and calm his nerves and think rationally. He had to find a way out of this. There had to be a way. He was stronger than Vegeta, not to mention smarter. So why was it that the diminutive Saiyan now had the upper hand?

"You want this a much as I, Cell." Vegeta purred. "You can't hide that smell from me. But if you insist on running away, be my guest. You won't get far."

The sound of the other man's deep voice sent a wave of heat into the android's belly.

"Get up…_get up!_" he muttered angrily to himself and set about running away from that hypnotizing voice.

He'd gotten maybe 25 feet when a sudden rush of wind spooked him so badly he lost his footing and began to tumble. This fucking area was full of hills it seemed. He toppled violently to the bottom landing face first in the grass. Cell forced open watering eyes only to make out a vision of white in front of them. He followed the blurred scene up, his vision clearing and he found that he was staring right into the face of his worst nightmare.

He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but was abruptly snatched up to his knees by a hand buried snuggly in his hair. Chilling dark eyes seemed to stare into his very soul (or souls, what ever you chose to believe) and he couldn't help the shiver that ran up his spine. His quivering mouth could only find one word.

"Vegeta…" His eyes screwed shut in his utter shame at how helpless he'd sounded.

Cell felt a cold hand on the side of his face and opened his eyes determined to see what was to come. The prince merely looked down upon him, unsettlingly focused on plunging the depths of his large crimson eyes.

"Heh…" the prince muttered breaking the spell unexpectedly.

And all of a sudden his lips were on Cell's. The sudden contact causing the surprised creature to open his mouth in a gasp: an invitation to the hungry prince. The new, and oddly intriguing sensation of someone else's tongue in his mouth caused Cell to relax in Vegeta's embrace.

He found himself (against his better judgment mind you) enjoying this strange little act. The wondrous feeling of hot, moist velvet gliding across his own. The taste of the little prince had ignited a pleasing pulse that was almost electric through out his painfully aroused body. His heart pounded in his ears and he could do nothing to pull away. Hell, he won't even think of doing such as thing now.

He could not feel anything but this. Not the hand digging painfully into his scalp. Not the scrapes and bruises he'd sustained during his jaunt that refused to heal because of his low ki. Not even the prince's hand on his tail, the gentle caress, loosening the cramped nerves within. His mind was focused only on the warmth of the persistent prince and his talented tongue.

But suddenly Vegeta pulled away. Leaving the android longing for the contact he'd been previously enjoying.

The two of them stared breathlessly at each other. They were still so close that their noses were touching. Cell's kiss swollen mouth gapped slightly, obviously in shock of what had just occurred. The Saiyan prince, however, wore his ever-present smirk proudly. He seemed to be very pleased with the violet hue that he'd caused the android's face to take on. Vegeta ran a calloused thumb over the plum colored tear on the side of Cell's face and grinned.

"Hello, uke." He trilled.

****

**_(to be continued…)_**

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**_Responses:_**__

**_Hecate:_**Your review made me so happy. You're starting to like Cell. Ha Ha! _'He's kinda like a big kid, but with far more class then Goku_That's like I see him and I had hoped that was how he came across. In the anime, no matter what he's doing he always seemed to be more concerned with having fun than anything else. He even threw tantrums when he didn't get his way. Yep, he'd definitely a big kid.

**_Card:_** I fixed the typo. You know I was blushing after that remark. Don't really know why. It was so funny. grins

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**_Macha: _**wicked grin The armor and tail bit were all a part of my evil plan.

**_Pixlegoddess_****** Hmm…interesting take on Cell's genetic heritage. I was a little disappointed by the anime. Not that he didn't look hella cool in his perfect form. But I would have liked it if more of his genes could have been more pronounce physically. My vision of him underneath his 'armor' (who really knows if that's what it was) is inspired by different fics that I've read.

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**_Calia_****** I like Cell's pov too. Way more fun to write.

**_cackles_** I will make you all love Cell and Vegeta slash! Muhahahahhaaaa! You guys love me for banging this one out so quickly right? I might hate me later though. It might take a little longer for the next chap. I have to make sure that it perfect. _**grins**_ God, its getting harder and harder to keep these boys in character.

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	4. Chapter Three: tumble

**_The Cursed Idle Mind and Bloody Instinct_**

**Disclaimer/Warning thingy: **Okay I think we talked about all this in the prologue but just in case you all forgot or anything, I do not own Cell or Vegeta or Dragonball Z. And this fic is rated R, which means it will include sex and all language used to describe the act (as detailed as an R rating will allow anyway). Oh yeah…and it's between two guys. Which Cell and Vegeta happen to be. Yeah…really. That's what Yaoi means by the way. Two guys…banging. Okay on with the fic. **_grins_**

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**_Chapter Three (tumble)_**

"Hello uke."

Formerly widened eyes narrowed dangerously and the hand that had been absently resting on the prince's hip tightened instinctively. A snarl could even be heard vibrating deep within the android's throat. Cell had suddenly become outraged by the very idea of submitting to the other man. But the anger he'd felt briefly just as quickly left the poor confused cyborg once he noticed the hand gently massaging the base of his tail.

When had Vegeta's hand gotten there?

He felt lightheaded and soon found himself cuddling into the other man's chest. Taking in the peculiar scent of his sweat and arousal; Vegeta's own spicy scent. He couldn't ignore the hot, heavy feeling between his legs. He was giving in.

Vegeta buried his nosed in the android's pale hair, inhaling and cracking a triumphant grin in response. He then proceeded to pull his hands free of his ruined gloves and cupped Cell's blushing face.

"Not bad. Not bad at all." He whispered roughly.

Vegeta then claimed the other man's mouth hungrily again, tearing at the fabric his training Gi, leaving the shirt in two. Cell whimpered into his searching mouth. It was such a strange sound to hear coming from the mass murder. It was almost cute. Too bad Saiyans didn't do cute.

The prince wondered vaguely what other little sounds he could conger from the android, ending the kiss abruptly. Though, not before nipping Cell's bottom lip enough to draw blood.

He licked his mouth clean while pushing the android onto his back aggressively. The pale skinned creature just lay there, oddly colored eyes fixed steadily upon him.

"What, giving up already?" Vegeta snorted, kneeling between long legs.

Cell's eyes flashed in response but he made no attempt to get up. He sucked in a breath as the prince's hand roamed up a clothed thigh, higher and higher until he reached his destination. Cell watched in a sort of morbid fascination as a rough hand kneaded his burgeoning arousal.

"Hmm…"

A forceful tug found Cell's pants around his ankles and his boot thudding to the ground. He was exposed entirely now. There was no hiding his excitement from the determined prince. It was then that a warm hand found his straining length causing a shuttering breath to escape the surprised cyborg. The churning feeling that it had created in his belly, the increased rush of blood to his lower regions left him utterly at a loss. He watched the other man's movements through hooded eyes. Cell fell backwards in to the damp grass and registered the prince leaning down besides him, though the Saiyan's hand never left him. A chuckle resonated in his sensitive ears as his captor began his slow tormenting motions. The overly competitive android was losing and he wasn't sure if should be crying or laughing about it.

The prince's chuckling ceased as his pace increased; coxing the most interesting sounds from him. Just when Cell thought that his brain could process no more of this insane…inexplicably…mind numbing…pressure…he stopped. The bastard stopped. Leaving his body bow tight, fingers dug snuggly into the damp earth beside him, toes curled, teeth biting into this bottom lip…The bastard stopped. Completely. He'd been so close. To what he wasn't entirely sure. But if previous experience was any indication, it was sure to have been damned good.

A painful gasp for air as he slumped back to the ground (damned Saiyan, Namek, fucking human cells…if he'd been in space he wouldn't need to breath, Icejin anatomy would just kick in…but no. Just another reminder of his defeat…) a pitiful whine following and let's not forget the disturbingly accurate roll of his hips as Cell was rewarded with the prince's demeaning little snigger once again. The android opened his eyes and gave the Saiyan a pleading stare.

"Vegetahhh…please…" He whimpered breathlessly, pride tossed to the wind.

"Please what, android?" Was the calm reply.

The prince had ceased the mind numbingly pleasurable stroking; hand still firmly in place, squeezing ever so slightly. False tears slipped free of the android's fluttering lashes and trailed along blushing skin so bright the prince had no clue were the white of his face began and the violet skin on the sides ended. Vegeta couldn't recall ever being this pleased with himself.

A newly revived tail patted insistently against his forearm and he caught it between unoccupied fingers. He ran blunt nails along the length of the wondering appendage, face twisting into a grin of pride as the legs on either side of him quivered.

"Fucking Saiyan…" The android muttered quietly. "Get it over with."

"Heh…You forget. I make the rules in this game, android."

The hand that had been still around the android was suddenly gone, frustrating Cell greatly. A determined hand was caught, right along with the next and they were hoist above the creature's pale head. The prince was stretched out over him, amused dark eyes smiling down at him. Shifting barely, Vegeta only used one hand to keep Cell out of his way as he pulled himself free of the remaining bits of his uniform.

Cell's eyes widened at the brush of the Saiyan against his inner thigh.

"Looks like I win after all." Vegeta smirked.

It was then that previously abandoned pride of Cell's chose to rear its ugly head once again and taking the Saiyan prince by surprise, the android was once again on his feet. Vegeta's smirk grew to a full on grin as he got to his feet as well, staring at the newly determined android.

"Cheater." The prince said gruffly shaking his head.

And before Cell could blink he and the dark haired prince were rolling on the ground. Punching and kicking, fighting for dominance in this little game of theirs. It didn't take long for there to be a clear winner however, as Cell's ki was still so low. His body had yet to recover from the damage done to his tail. He found himself face first in the dirt, one arm pinned painfully behind him, the other struggling to find a way out this predicament. He gave up reluctantly. He'd had his chance. He'd lost fair and square.

The prince ground possessively behind him and he fought to quell the whimper that rose in his throat.

"Now, be a good boy." Vegeta purred in his ear.

He was pulled up onto his knees, legs spread wide enough for the prince to stand between them. He could feel Vegeta rub against him. He didn't care anymore; there was no shame in him as he pressed back. Ungloved fingers dug into his hip and held him still, the other hand busy doing… something behind him. The android slid his face down the forearm it'd been resting on, shifting sweat soaked hair from his over heated forehead and he waited.

The first push was agony; stealing the precious oxygen from his lungs. He had to bite down on his bottom lip to keep from making a sound, unable to ignore the pain as his design insisted. The strangeness of this was unavoidable. It all felt so terribly wrong. Slowly that feeling faded into something almost right…curiously pleasant oddly enough.

"Relax you fucking idiot." The prince growled through gritted teeth.

Cell smiled a weary little smile to himself and tried to will his traumatized muscles to relax. The prince's grip on his waist loosened somewhat and the Saiyan's breathing went from nonexistent to almost panting. It was somewhat soothing to his damaged ego that he'd made the big bad prince so breathless.

The android was almost unbearably hot. Vegeta thought that he'd never get used to it. He didn't…but he couldn't let the bastard in on that little bit of information. He just stayed as still as he possibly could, that was until he could regain, as discreetly as possible, his lost breath. He busied himself during this by running his hands up the pale creature's back which was almost the same color as the android's blushing face.

Gods he was so hot. He soon gave up waiting it out and rocked forward slowly, gritting his teeth at the trembling sensation it caused in his stomach. A smile bloomed as each movement was rewarded with a shallow gasp and the obvious tensing of the muscles in Cell's back. He wrapped his hand around the android's fuzzy appendage and in no time at all he found a steady rhythm. He grabbed hold to a handful of the android's hair and pulled viciously causing Cell rear up on the palms of his hands.

"That's better." He said, his voice low and husky.

An even bigger smile grew as he the proof that he'd found what he'd been looking for escaped Cell's mouth. There were chocked off moans and groans, squirming and shutters. The prince's own heart beating in his ears was beginning to drown out the sound of those lovely little noises.

"Ng…pant…ahhh…gasp…Ve…"

"Yes…" the prince hissed through gritted teeth. "What was that?"

"Ve..ge…"

"Hmm…yes…my name, android?"

A barely audible whine was all he got in reply.

"My…name…android."

A half whine half growl was next. And the patience less prince responded with more violently. Causing Cell's arms to almost give way and surrender any semblance of dignity at this point. With a straggled gasp he forced the prince's name through clenched teeth. A rumbling chuckling was heard from behind him.

Great, he'd pleased the sadistic little bastard. But he was still so… A hand shot foreword and grabbed one of his arms, throwing him off balance once again. He let the arm be pulled down between his legs and settled on the source of his discomfort.

"Here…" Vegeta growled, never slowing his pace, it made his voice sound weird. "And hurry up. I'm not… going to wait… for you to finish."

Cell ignored the comment as best he could and began feverishly stroking himself, the prince still pounding him merrily. He was on the verge of either laughing or crying. He wasn't sure which. Cry most likely from the sweat running into and stinging his eyes. How had he gotten into this mess in the first place? The prince's fingers dug deep into his hips as the smaller body went still behind him and a chocked off curse echoed about them. He gasped for air, his stomach tightening almost painfully and then the world around him flashed a brilliant white.

He fell over on his side, oxygen deprived lungs struggling for air. On the way down he registered the feeling of his tail slipping from between the Saiyan's fingers. Every muscle in his entire body was screaming. He could barely open his eyes (they hurt like hell too for some inconceivable reason). There, on his knees chest heaving, sat the prince of Saiyans, bronzed sweat soaked skin flushed with red, a wholly satisfied grin on his face.

"That actually was a lot of fun, android." Vegeta smirked down at him. "Perhaps I won't kill you."

The statement didn't even faze Cell at this point. He'd turned his gaze to the mess he'd made in that unfortunate patch of grass just there. It wasn't if he'd stand a chance now if the prince decided to kill him.

Bare feet slowly passed in front of his line of sight and he followed their path to a nearby tree. The sated prince plopped down on the ground and fell backwards ungracefully. Cell sat up on his arms and watched in disbelief and the man scratched at his stomach and made himself more comfortable. Within moments Cell could make out the sound of the prince's soft snoring.

_"Bastard."_

**_(to be continued…)_**


	5. Chapter Four: tame

**_The Cursed Idle Mind and Bloody Instinct_**

**Author's Note:** Okay, the warning and the disclamier remain the same as last chapter and the ones before that. This is slightly edited from the orginal version which you can find the link to on my bio.

**_Chapter Four (tame)_**

His eyes weren't even open yet and he was already being frustrating. Not that Goku would ever let it get to him. If he had, Vegeta would have been bits of dust a long time ago. But no, he was friendly, understanding, lovable Goku. He would never do a thing like that…well unless you happened to be Frieza and just wouldn't take a spirit bomb for an answer.

Sooo… he just stood there and waited. Trying not to watch and blush as the Prince of Saiyans worked out every kink in his overly nude body. Not that Goku was uncomfortable or anything. It was just that he'd never really seen Vegeta…with no clothes on (well not recently)…and grinning at him.

The prince sat upright, looked around and then focused on him.

"Baka, what do you want?"

Okay. So things were not as totally _wrong_ as they seemed. He was still baka and Vegeta was…still naked and smelling like sex…and the only power level he'd sensed around the man for the past few hours had been Cell's. Okay, things were just as wrong as he'd originally thought.

"Uh…Hiyah Vegeta." Said the alleged baka as he scratched the thinning patch of hair in the back of his head.

He got a detached stare in response.

"So…um…how's training going." Excessively large smile.

And the man actually leered at him. Oh gods, what the hell was going on! His face was now tingling with the threat of a blush and he had to look away when he noticed the prince's hand as it scratched its way down his abdomen. The poor confused Saiyan even had to catch himself before he crushed the Dragonradar he forgot he'd been holding.

"It goes." Was the reply.

"Well… I was just wondering." Goku managed to say. "You know the king sent his entire army looking for Cell and when they got to his arena he wasn't there."

"He's been busy." Vegeta said standing to his feet.

"Oh…"

Goku couldn't help but reaffirm the fact that the prince was naked when he's said that.

"Okay. nervous laugh Well since things were quiet for a while we all decided that we should work on getting the Dragonballs back…"

Vegeta wasn't really interested in what the younger Saiyan had to say after that. Nor why the idiot had yet to drop his ki below that of a Super Saiyan. Nope, he was currently busy wondering where his playmate had wondered off to. The android wasn't far off and it seemed that his ki was working its way back up, albeit, slowly.

Despite the fact that he wasn't really listening to the idiot's ranting he did happen to catch something about a new guardian named Dende …new Dragonballs…Bulma…and looking for him. He turned around when it seemed that the Earth reared Saiyan had finally run out of steam.

"Is that all?"

Now Goku was thoroughly confused. But he had to admit that it was his own fault. He had somehow convinced himself that the prince would actually give a damn about what everyone else was doing in preparation for Cell. Where was Cell anyway?

"Well…no." Goku squeaked. "I was wondering…um…what happened to your clothes, Vegeta?"

"I hardly think that you can all the way out here to check on my clothes, Kakarot."

The grin was enough to stop the taller man's heart dead in his chest. Vegeta didn't grin. Never. Well not anything that could be considered a grin…in the jovial sense anyway. Vegeta's grins were always sort of sinister in nature. But this wasn't one of those grins. Not even Goku's funniest jokes had ever caused even a twitch from the humorless prince. What the hell was so amusing about the answer to that question? But before the flaxen haired hero could ask the grin disappeared and was replaced with a more Vegeta like smirk.

"Lost them." Vegeta replied finally with an air of carelessness. "Tragic sparring accident."

"Oh."

"…"

"So where _is_ Cell?"

"Probably off sulking somewhere."

Goku's mouth opened a millimeter. He wanted so badly to know why exactly would Cell, the monster of Nikki town, mass murder extraordinaire, be sulking about anything. But then that damned smell that had had him all confused in the first place was wafted back up his sensitive nose by an errant breeze. This of course caused his eyes to widen in horrible realization. Though, he tried like hell to ignore the obvious. Unfortunately, his mouth hadn't quite understood this plan.

"Did you and Cell have sex?" He blurted, immediately wincing after the fact.

The prince's eyes brightened at the question and the smirk he'd been sporting grew even larger. Taking a few steps, he was now uncomfortably close to his fellow Saiyan. This in turn caused Son Goku to burst into a hysterical display of nervous giggles and to scratch madly at the back of his head.

"Umm…wow, Vegeta." He said between giggles. "Really…wow."

The Prince still hadn't moved.

"I didn't know that Cell could do…you know…that."

Vegeta's grin was Cheshire worthy.

"Ahem…okay. Well, I guess I should leave you and Cell to…um…your training."

And with that the Super Saiyan third class put two fingers to his forehead and ceased to be.

"Baka."

oo0oo

After hunting down some lunch Vegeta sot out his missing android, it didn't take much effort really. And within moments, the prince found Cell conveniently sitting near a stream. After the first phase of their new game, the flame haired royal was currently in desperate need of a bath. It would appear that the bio android had had the same idea.

He approached silently enough, though he knew that he'd be noticed. However, the android didn't even turn around. He was hunched over a spot a few feet from the water's edge, hair weighted down with water, rivulets of it running down his bare back. Vegeta could still make out the faint remnants of the bruises that had been there a few hours ago. It would seem that the bottom half of his Gi had been salvageable, but it appeared to be the only thing.

Upon passing the sulking android, Vegeta made a point to make his presence felt. He ran his fingers through Cell's wet hair from the nape of his neck to the end of his scalp. He grinned as the android suppressed a shutter and set to removing what had been left of his own pants. He threw them backwards right into the pale cyborg's face for good measure and stifled a shutter of his own as he stepped into the chilling waters of the stream. It wouldn't do to show weakness in the presence of his new playmate, but a little ki wouldn't hurt right about now either.

Cell snatched the ripped spandex away from his face revealing a wholly annoyed expression. It was bad enough that he'd participated in that horrid game of Vegeta's but now he was behaving so brazenly in the bastard prince's company.

It hadn't been that good…really.

**_sigh_**

Cell's skin started tingling at the mere thought of it. He ducked his head again to hide the blush that was raising the surface of his pale face. He focused on his tail as it lay twitching listlessly in the grass in front of him. He could feel it again now, but his power had yet to return. It still felt bottled up inside of him. The cap on it had been twisted looser some but his ki was still trapped there bubbling just underneath it. If only he knew what Vegeta had done to him. He could figure out a way to reverse it. Then he could teach that pint sized son of a bitch a lesson.

But it was getting harder to ignore the way his body was reacting to the phantoms of the prince's demanding touches. The android snarled in frustration and sprung to his feet. Dead set on leaving this accursed forest.

"And just where to you think you're going?"

He had got only a short distance away from the river bank before Vegeta had asked him that. He turned around before he'd had the sense to prepare himself and almost sighed in defeat. Of course Vegeta had been bathing, why would he have and clothes on.

He had tried to keep his eyes at an appropriate level, but he found that he just couldn't help himself. First it was the small prince's compact but powerful chest. Then his slim little waist…then…gulp The prince was soaked from head to toe. His long flame of hair was now slicked down his back. Even now it was fighting to return to its former gravity defying position aloft. And then the sunlight hit the droplet of water that dotted him, it made the Saiyan prince's skin a glistening bronzed wonderland. He licked dry lips at the though of… Kami…what had he become?!

He took a deep breath to try to calm his raging hormones. Hormones that he had been able to completely ignore until now.

"Not that it's any of your business…I'm going back…to check on my arena."

Vegeta choked back a laugh before his former smirk righted it's self. He had almost been fooled by the return of the usual superior timbre of Cell's voice, but that sad ass excuse the android had just come up with was almost laughable.

"You're not going anywhere, android." Vegeta said, eyes narrowed dangerously. "I'm not finished with you yet."

The look the Saiyan was giving him was tremor inducing. The sudden silence was deafening. He swallowed audibly and caught the prince's eyes following the path of his bobbing Adams apple. He could even hear the fabric rustle as his pants fell lower on his waist, his tail sprung to life just in time to catch them.

A rabbit scuttled nearby. A lone bird chirped.

Cell's mouth pressed into a determined thin line, his resolve strengthening. He stood up tall flaunting the large height difference between the two of them. Vegeta advanced on him slowly. Stalkerly even. The prince looked up at him, a possessive glint just beneath the surface of his glossy pools of midnight.

"I'm not asking for your permission, Saiyan. I'm leaving. Playtime is over. Get out of my way."

He had managed to almost convince himself with that one. Although, that iron fist that had somehow found its way into his gut without him noticing it only proved that he'd not been so lucky in convincing the bastard prince. He fell back into the grass, clutching his aching abdomen. If he squint his eyes, he could almost make out the outline of the ascended prince against the glowing radiance of his pulsing aura.

_"That fucking son of a…"_

"Humph." Vegeta grunted, looking down on the grounded android, before dropping his power level back down. "Now, if you're finished, we can get to the more pleasant part of the day."

That one little sentence had some how lead up to Cell desperately sucking on the tongue that was now dominating his mouth. Vegeta's hands were leaving trails of fire across his tingling skin. His pants had long since been ripped from him and his legs splayed wide. He gasped as the fingers he'd previously prepared pushed their way into his entrance getting him ready for a second go round. The prince hadn't been so thoughtful the first time. Cell found himself wondering why the suddenly show of kindness, but that thought was brutally shoved aside and the impatient prince's fingers wereabruptly replaced .

Vegeta smiled slightly at the growl he'd gotten in response to his initial thrust. He hiked the android's long legs up higher on his hips and set about making him scream. With each movement the air around them got a little warmer. Sweat dripped down the royal's face, but he ignored it and kept his eyes open. He wanted to see the way Cell's face twisted as he pounded him mercilessly.

"Fuck!" The sweaty, blushing creature beneath him snarled and before the prince knew it he was flat on his back, his erection driven even further inside of his now extremely willing playmate.

He would have cursed and pushed the android back but the sound that had emanated from the android was worth it all. It was a something like the bastard child of a whimper and a growl. Vegeta found himself becoming quite fond of it. Humans didn't growl. He'd yet to coax anything close to it from the blue haired onna. Raditz used to make sounds like that. He closed his eyes a grinned taking it all in as the white haired cyborg moved on topof him.

He watched Cell's face tighten in concentration, listened to every desperate little sound that pushed it way up through his oxygen starved chest.

"Vegeta…"

That was a whine, an actual whine. Vegeta almost chuckled in victory.

"Poor baby." Vegeta's lust laden voice replied.

He got a narrowed gaze in response but that android hadn't been upset enough to stop. The prince reared up, taking back his former position. The pace was increasing making the two of them delirious with a single minded focus on their own pleasure. Cell cried out a choked off sob of precious release. But Vegeta continued tormenting him.

"Vegeta…" He whined again grabbing a handful of the prince's hair.

His hand was smacked away. He was breaking the prince's concentration. He was almost there…

Cell's mouth fell open again only no sound was able to find its way out. There was the distinct feeling of wetness filling him but there was now also pain. This was located much higher on his over stimulated body; right where his neck met his shoulder. He couldn't turn his head to see as Vegeta's was in the way. The prince's mouth was latched onto him, his sharp canines digging even deeper into his vulnerable flesh.

"Oww." He mouthed.

The now bloody mouthed prince pulled away to look down at him with widened eyes. Cell's stomach tightened and an intense panicky feeling over took him. Vegeta pulled away abruptly causing slight pain but not enough to distract the ashen haired man from the matter at hand. He sat up ignoring the discomfort, and watched the prince watching him. The Saiyan no Ouji looked shocked, frightened even.

Cell's mouth opened to say something but there was nothing. He tried to get a look at his bleeding shoulder; dots of his warm violet hued life's fluid pooling on the bruising flesh.

"Wha…" He said turning to the prince, the man's face was white as a sheet. **"What did you do?!"**

**_(to be continued…)_**


	6. Chapter Five: suffer

**_The Cursed Idle Mind and Bloody Instinct_**

**_Author's Note: _**_It's been brought to my attention that Cell has been a bit passive in this fic. Well the last few chapters anyway. Well there is a reason for it. I hope to get around to the specifics of it soon. I love Cell to death but he is huge pain in the ass to write. His emotions aren't what you would call easily decipherable. Unless he's angry or proud…or being an ass. Vegeta's not a bed of roses either. That's probably why I love this fic so much. There's nothing like a challenge._

_Ye be warned…here be angst and tons of it. _

**_Chapter Five (suffer)_**

It was the waiting part that was getting to him. Piccolo had long since exited the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and Tien and Yamcha refused to bother with it. Goku and Gohan had left it two days ago without any intention of going into the thing again. So it was free. Now all Trunks needed was his father and then he could get this over with.

He could have gone inside 'the room that time forgot' alone like Piccolo. But he knew deep down that he was not as mentally sound as the Namekian. The chamber was a strange place. The purple haired boy grimaced at the thought of being stuck in that vast, empty lot of space for an entire a year with not but himself as company.

Not that his father had been much for conversation during the boy's first time in the time chamber. In fact the man had barely spoken to him at all. Though, the rational part of his brain told him otherwise, the other half, the part that truly believed that his father was capable of having at least some sort of affection for him, hoped that this time would be different.

But this was Vegeta he was talking about. And he had been around his father long enough to figure out what his mother had meant when she'd told him not to expect much. His mother was a smart woman and more than most of the time she was right. But Trunks couldn't help the little boy inside him that still held out hope.

The lavender haired youth looked up from the particularly interesting piece of tile on the ground below him. Over by the south edge of the Look Out, Piccolo was in the midst of deep meditation…as usual. On the east end, Tien and Chaotzu were engrossed in some light sparring. Inside the Look Out somewhere Mr. Popo was giving the Earth's fresh young guardian a tour of his new home.

The hanyou sighed. His mother had said something about his father going off for some training. He hadn't seen the man for two days.

Trunks had figured that after his temper tantrum that the prince gone off to find the android Cell. His father had been furious that he hadn't been unable to defeat the creature. The boy from the future frowned at the thought. His father had been the one to allow Cell to absorb #18 in the first place. Trunks even recalled the odd sense of satisfaction he'd felt when the newly _"Perfect"_ Cell had promptly proceeded to trounce his dear ol' dad. Those feelings had been quickly pushed aside and the boy had come to his father's rescue. Only to fall just as quickly as his the older Saiyan had.

He sighed a bit louder. He had been just as overconfident as his father had been and had failed just as miserably to destroy the android. The boy guessed that blind pride was just something that ran strong in the Vegeta bloodline.

He'd had been tracking his father's ki signature for the past few days. Not daring to interfere with the man's precious training. Though the prince's apparent training partner had seriously disturbed the boy. Goku had even confirmed it.

Cell, of all the people on the Earth, his apparently suicidal father had talked Cell into training with him. What was even odder about this, if that was at all possible, was that his father was notorious for his 'I train alone' mentality.

Goku had appeared a few hours ago looking a bit odder than usual. It would seem that the Earth reared Saiyan also had found it strange that the very creature that his father and everyone else was training to destroy had agreed to help the prince prepare for the Cell Games. It had to be some kind of a trick. But the older man had insisted, so Trunks let his father be. He could only hope that man hadn't done anything stupid.

The youth's blue eyes brightened suddenly. He could feel the approach of a familiar ki. It was the prince.

oo0oo

He ignored the odd looks he got from the Namek; the three eyed freak and his clown friend, and headed straight for the time chamber. He needed some time to think. A lot of time to think. He barely noticed the purple haired brat sitting next to the thing.

"Father!" The boy said jumping up. "I've been waiting for you."

"Hn."

Vegeta acknowledged the future version of his son briefly.

"I train alone, boy. Or have you forgotten?"

"Yeah, I know but…"

"If you want to tag along then that's your own business. Just don't get in my way."

And with that the flame haired royal made his way to the chamber door, his visually deflated son dragging behind him. And to think Trunks was actually willingly putting himself through another year of this.

oo0oo

The frustrated snarl seemed to reverberate off of every surface in the entire desert. Cell's arms dropped limply to his sides his darkened gaze fixed straight ahead.

It was useless to keep trying. He couldn't focus. He felt restless. Anxious. His mind just wouldn't rest.

The android had always staked his sanity on meditation. When one possessed a mind such as his it was absolutely vital. The Namek Piccolo had a unique mind as well. Most creatures with powers of the telekinetic nature did. Not only that, but Cell's mind was not exactly normal either. Kami knows that it was never intended that any one creature be created from the so many different individuals. Especially when quite a few of those _'parents'_ were not the most stable of people to begin with.

The ivory skinned android looked around forlornly at his arena. The Saiyan should have been back by now. Just the thought of the pint sized prince caused a tightening in Cell's chest. He swallowed bitterly. It was hard to place this feeling really. He had not felt an emptiness such as this since before he'd attained his perfect form.

His right arm subconsciously went to his left shoulder. Slender fingers found their way underneath the stretchy black material that lined the neck of his armor.

This feeling. It was on the verge of… longing. And apparently it had everything to do with Vegeta. He'd engaged in such primitive acts with that man. And as much as he hated to admit it, he was not totally averse to the idea playing their little game again. He had never thought…of such things. The touch of the bastard prince had ignited something in him. Something he never even knew was there.

But then Vegeta had bitten him. That had been an annoying development. Even though it had hurt like hell, his ki having been suppressed and all, it wasn't the bite that had disturbed him so. It had been the way Vegeta had looked afterwards, the way he'd just run off.

And why exactly had he let just up and leave in the first place? It was like he cared where the idiot went. They had been finished with their little game for the day…Right?

It wasn't until later that Cell had noticed that the prince had marked him. Though, the wound had long since healed, however a dark scar still remained. Scars rarely happened on the android's body. He could count only one other that marked his body; the scar that his tail made on his back whenever it was removed with the rest of his biomechanical armor. The tail as well as the armor was a bitch to rebuild. Took a ridiculous amount of ki as well. It was like rebuilding a whole other body. The intricacies of tail/absorption chute had even slightly eluded his Namekian cells, resulting in the reoccurring scar.

But this had only been a simple bite; born out of raging hormones and the primal instinct of bloodthirsty monkey prince. It should have healed over without leaving a trace.

What passed for eyebrows on the android's now helmet covered head were knitted in deep thought. Dark rimmed, red eyes looked down to the focus on his bloodied fingers. He'd scratched the scar to bleeding again. There had to be more to this bite. And Vegeta knew it. He'd done something to him and Cell was dead set on finding out just exactly that something was.

If the prince wouldn't come to him then he'd just go to the prince. It should be simply enough to find him. The prince, as well as the rest of the Z fighters, was abysmal at hiding his ki signature. Thus, Cell immediately sent about scouting for the familiar ki. After but a few moment a low guttural growl erupted from the cyborg's throat. He'd not been able to find the prince's ki. It would seem the little bastard was better at hiding then he'd expected. He did however notice the oncoming approach of thousands of insignificant power levels. In his exhausted haze he'd not noticed their approach.

It was the king's army.

"Ah, of course." He nearly growled. "The military must prove it superior idiocy."

Cell's weary expression suddenly brightened. Off in the distance, clouds of dust bellowed. He could now hear the approach of hundreds of tanks and fighter crafts. He crossed his arms over his plated chest. Finally, something to take his mind off of… things. If these fools insisted on darkening his mood even further, then so be it.

An aircraft screeched overhead prompting a murderous smile to light up Cell's pale face. He was frustrated and severely pissed off. Not a good thing when you happened to be a super powered alien android created for mass destruction. His ki was now almost back to its normal level. Over a hundred times the amount he needed to deal with this insignificant lot.

With merely a thought, the tall cyborg levitated from his arena onto the top of a nearby plateau. He didn't want these idiots damaging is precious arena now did he?

oo0oo

_"Your highness, Prince Vegeta, we must go!" _

_The young boy looked up into the face of his subordinate. The dark haired Saiyan was sweating, his face flushed red. The energy he used in battle was still humming about him. _

**"I remember this. I had to have only been around six in a half Earth standard."**

_The much older Prince Vegeta found himself standing on the sidelines. He could see his younger self and a much younger version of the Saiyan known as Raditz. This had been so long ago, when the teenager had been the one given the task of watching over him. He watched the seen with astonished interest. He must have passed out trying to ascend during his training in the time chamber. That was nothing new. But usually he simply blacked out. He'd never experienced anything like this before. What was going on here?_

_Raditz was becoming even more fidgety than he'd been before. _

_"I don't know, Raditz." The little prince grinned mischievously. "Perhaps we should wait for the fool. I'd love to see the look on his face after this."_

_The wild haired youth looked stricken. Another explosion sounded off in the distance and the entire room shook with the force. _

_"I can't believe it!" the older boy gasped. "She made it through the blockade. Those were at least ten of the king's best elite fighters!" _

_"Humph…" The boy balked. _

_The young prince and Raditz both turned their gaze back huge wooden door; Vegeta found that he couldn't help turning as well. The three of them listened attentively to the muffled yells and noise that echoed just behind it. The little prince was becoming a bit restless now as well and he made it know with a frustrated snarl. _

_"If he insists on having those worthless buffoons handle this without my help then so be it!" _

_The six year old turned his back to the door and crossed his arms over his small muscular chest. _

_"Of course, sire, but…" Raditz started. _

_Suddenly the younger boy turned around in a huff. _

_"Damn this…" his light pinched voice growled. "I will not stand by while those idiots get my father killed!" _

_The elder Vegeta couldn't help the small smile that tugged at his lips. He'd had been so eager for a battle even at that young of an age. _

_"But sire!" Raditz howled. _

_"C'mon Raditz!"__ Young Vegeta barked. "You wanted to be my protector, now its time you prove that you aren't as much of a waste of space as I know you are!" _

_The lower level solider sighed. It was true he'd asked for this. But what a way to die; torn to shreds by his king's love crazed mistress. None the less he couldn't leave his charge's side, so the young man remained right on the boy prince's heels. Adult Vegeta followed as well, unable to handle the door himself he simply passed through it, ghosting behind his young counterpart and the long haired Saiyan. _

**_"What is this? Some sort of dream. But everything…it seems so real."_**

**_"Doesn't it?"_**

_Vegeta turned around suddenly at the voice that had been right behind him. No one had seemed to have been able to hear him before. Who…_

**_"My prince…" _**

_It was Raditz, a much older version of the one that he'd just been following. The russet skinned man bowed slightly. _

**_"What are you doing here?!" _**

**_"I am only here to help, my lord." The man replied. "I am here to ensure that you learn all that you are supposed to from this…experience." _**

_He grinned wide and looked around at his surrounding for the first time. _

**_"Ah…It's been too long." _**

**_"I don't have time for your reminiscing, imbecile. Why am I here?! Why are you here?!" _**

_The response to those questions was delayed by the sound of another ki blast impacting a wall and the pitiful yells of yet more elite soldiers. _

**_"Who is that?" Vegeta growled. _**

**_"Do you not remember, Prince Vegeta?" Raditz asked innocently. "I was told that this was one of the most traumatic experiences of your life." _**

**_"Told by who?!" he yelled. _**

**_"Come, sire." Raditz replied leading the way down the barren hallway. "Before we miss what you are to see." _**

_The taller male was off in such a hurry that the prince was left gapping. He quickly regained himself had was running to catch up. He quickly found himself standing next to the man right in the huge door way of the royal throne room. Inside there was much commotion. There was a crowd of people in the middle surrounding someone. The elder Vegeta pushed his way through and found the younger version of himself standing over the body of…_

_Now he remembered. How could he have possibly forgotten?_

**_"You had forgotten because you did not wish to remember." _**

_He turned around to face Raditz. The older man had a solemn look on his face. This had been the day that Vegeta's mother, the Queen of all Saiyans had been killed by a foolish young girl. How had a third class nothing of a girl have gotten so strong all of a sudden?_

_The other side of the crowd parted suddenly. The elder Prince's vision lifted from the stunned forms of his younger self and young Raditz up to the other end of the hall. There his father, Vegeta no Ou stood holding up the limp form of a girl. The back of her uniform was torn to shreds and the skin on her back was covered in burns. Protruding from her was a blade, glowing with crimson ki. His father's ki was that color, he remembered._

_The girl couldn't have been more than fifteen years old. The man watched as the girl's reddish black blood pooled on the floor. The king looked up from his kill out into the crowd that had assembled and tossed the girl aside. He stare passed them all, his eyes finally looking on him. Vegeta felt his skin crawl. His father had been dead for so many years. He barely remembered the man. At least he thought he barely remembered him. _

**_"Can he…can he see me?" Vegeta asked quietly. _**

_Raditz ignored the question. _

**_"He had mated with her. The King of all Saiyan mated to a third class whore. He had not even been allowed to be mated to his Queen." _**

**_"Wha…" Vegeta's eyes widened in realization. "He…he marked her?" _**

_Raditz nodded. _

**_"It makes you weak." The taller male replied. "You give a portion of your power over to the one you've chosen. He thought that killing her would return it, but he was wrong. The King was always so much weaker after this." _**

_The man turned to him and continued, looking him right in the eyes. Those endlessly black orbs shinning down on him, an almost sad expression on his face._

**_"You can't get it back that way, Prince. Not unless…"_**

**_"Unless what?" Vegeta howled. _**

_His vision was fading. Everything around him was evaporating leaving behind only darkness. _

**_"Raditz!"_**

_His voice seemed to echo now. There was no one there. Where had they…_

**_"Raditz you bastard!_****_ Unless what?!" _**

oo0oo

"Father!... C'mon Dad! Wake up!"

"Huh…wha…"

The prince had finally come to. Trunks had been worried sick. He'd been watching his father for the past few months, today even, out of the corner of his eye. Vegeta had been working himself to death. It had been even worse then that last time the two of them had been in the time chamber together. The ki had been pouring off of the man in waves. Trunks was fairly sure that his father had been close to a new level. But there seemed to be something holding him back. The boy watched with wide eyes as he tittered on the edge of it only to have his ki drop down to almost nothing suddenly and have him fall face first to the ground.

"Are you okay dad?

"I'm fine." The prince answered. "And stop calling me that!" He growled, jerking away.

Trunks face flinched visibly, the prince saw it. He regretted the remark instantly but made no move to correct it. The boy seemed to recover quickly enough and even helped him to his feet. Vegeta didn't bother to resist.

"Get back to your training boy," He said finally, trying in vain to sound imposing. "You're wasting valuable time!"

And with that said Vegeta stomped off further into the misty atmosphere of the open space beyond the main room of the time chamber.

oo0oo

The ground was covered in huge pock marks formed by errant ki blasts. Shrapnel and what was left of the tanks and aircrafts littered the ground. There were…bodies…everywhere. This was nothing like he'd ever seen before. Usually the villains he faced had always made it a point of ki blasting (or in this villain's case, absorbing) their victims into non existence. But this was…gruesome.

So many bodies all mangled horribly. The ones that had not burned into barely recognizable clumps were either missing some vital body part or were sporting large holes. How could he have done this to so many people. To have methodically tracked down every one of them until not a ki signal remained.

Goku sighed and swallow the bile that had risen in his throat. He had thought that maybe there was a chance for the android. But after seeing this… The atrocity that that thing was actually capable of…

"They attacked me first." A familiar voice sounded from behind him.

The Super Saiyan hero turned around to face the creature…the monster responsible for this.

"It was self defense."

"Cell…" The Saiyan shuddered with barely contained rage.

Goku had not the words to respond to that. How had this…this massacre been self defense?!

"Our little bargain is still intact, no?" Cell asked.

"You…you monster." Goku finally ground out. "These people were only trying to protect their home. You threatened to destroy the planet. This had been their self defense!"

There was a deep sigh in response.

"So wish them back with your precious Dragonballs." the voice had not been as vicious as the Earth reared Saiyan had been expecting.

The dust was clearing. Now Goku could see the monster more clearly now. His armor was splattered in blood. His head piece was missing. Exposing the thick white hair that the Saiyan had never considered could be underneath. He looked into the creature's face, which had been left remarkably clean compared to the rest of his body. There were dark circles around Cell's eyes, even darker than had been there before. Only these did not make him look more menacing, only tired. There was a deadness in those blood red orbs. None of the playfulness the Goku had remembered seeing before. He looked so tired and worn. A ghost of the creature he'd seen only days before.

"Where is he?"

"Wha…" Goku was taken by surprise.

"He was supposed to be here!" Cell forced through gritted teeth.

"Who…" He asked wide eyed.

"Vegeta!" The android yelled finally advancing on the Saiyan. "I've tried to find him, but…" His face twisted. Goku had almost thought the android was in some sort of pain. "Where is he?!"

"I don't…" The bewildered man said retreating backward.

"Goku, tell me where he is." Cell's voice dropped a few notches.

"…"

"Please." He pleaded.

That had done it. Goku was speechless.

**_(to be continued…)_**


	7. Chapter Six: contemplate

**_The Cursed Idle Mind and Bloody Instinct_**

_Chapter Six (contemplate)_

The purple haired brat had long since crawled into bed and passed out from exhaustion. Sleep was lingering in the near future for him as well, though the prince wasn't quite ready to give in just yet. He had come out here to think and to get away from the ever present…presence of his future son. The boy worried too much. That had to have been one of the boy's more annoying qualities. He especially worried over things that it made no since to worry about.

Like him.

The Prince of all Saiyans didn't need some half breed breathing down his neck all the time wanting to spend 'quality time' with him. As far as Vegeta was concerned this was quality time. Anytime spent to make one stronger was time well spent. The boy was lucky that he'd even let him train in his presence in the first place.

That tiny voice in the back of his head told him he was being an ass.

He had never liked that voice. Hardly ever paid it any attention. But he was tired and didn't feel much like arguing at this point. Though the voice was a fucking idiot if it didn't already know that he knew that he was an ass and just didn't give a damn one way or the other. But he relented and admitted to himself that purpled haired brat wasn't that bad.

He would have been handsome if it hadn't been for that stupid coloring of his. Purple hair. Who ever heard of a Saiyan prince with purple hair?! That aside, Vegeta had to admit that the boy's power level was…decent…for a half breed.

The little voice chose then to mention that the boy had reached Super Saiyan as a teenager and here he was quite a few years away from being a teenager and having just attained the transformation himself. And he was a full blooded Saiyan.

Stupid voice.

Vegeta growled out loud. "Forget that damned boy."

Having a half human son with abandonment issues was not what was important right now. He had to figure this out. That's right, back track. Start from the beginning. That Kamidamned android. His head dropped down forcing him to stare at his hands. Frustration swelled in his chest. He had done this. He had done this to himself. Recently all the irritating little setbacks that had impended him had turned out to actually be his fault. One little slip and now this. This…what the hell was this? What exactly had he done really?

The only way to know for sure was to go back to the beginning. That thing…

_"**He**… has a name."_ the voice added with what could only be called annoyance coloring its tone.

"He…has a name? It's a fucking machine. **It** was made in some crazed scientist's laboratory." Vegeta growled.

_"Please,"_ the voice interrupted his ranting once again. _"It wasn't just some mad scientist's machine when you were fucking **it** was it? And you know very well that **it** is a he. And he's not a machine. He's a bio android. His mechanical components are minimal." _

Fine. **He**…did have a name. Cell. There.

Vegeta rolled his eyes. This was the difficult part. Yes. Let's remember shall we. When you lowed your self to such third class behavior. Rutting with a creature such as that…thi…Cell.

The prince tried to convince himself that it wasn't as bad as it sounded. Or the little voice in the back of his head did anyway. Cell was just as Saiyan as his own son. A half breed, though mixed with several other races, still half of his genetics were Saiyan. He even had a tail for Kami's sake. It wasn't wrong for him to have wanted him. To have given in to the primal desire that all Saiyan males experienced countless time during their lives. He was a prince not a god. And even a god had to admit that that android had one fine ass.

He rolled his eyes again. Just when inner Vegeta had started to make sense an idiot thought like that slipped through.

It had been just a moment of weakness. A stupid mistake. He'd been there done that. The woman for instance. Well, maybe she wasn't a mistake of this caliber of stupidity. Bulma had her uses. She was worthy… on some level. He was intelligent in certain areas.

_"She had one fine ass too." _

"What's with you and your infatuation with asses?!" He screamed aloud.

A louder snort then the prince had previously been suffering through erupted from just behind him and Trunks jolted awake.

"Father?" The boy said sleepily. "What did you say…something about…asses?"

Damned boy was pretty alert even when he's supposed to be sleeping.

"Nothing boy, go back to sleep!"

Vegeta stood up trying his best to fight sleep. It had been almost three days. He would figure this out tonight even if it meant no rest again. He walked out into the misty perimeter of the chamber, staring out into the nothingness ahead. Yes. Now back to the matter at hand.

Cell…that damned android. With that tail…and unruly hair…and that wonderful smell. Most Saiyan males didn't give off a smell that good. Well, the ones he'd been around anyway.

"Okay, we've established the fact that the fucking android was attractive, smelled really good and has a nice…ass." He muttered. "Now why after all the people I've given the honor of being fucked senseless by me…"

_"The Almighty Prince of Saiyans."_ The voice mocked.

Vegeta even had to smirk at that one.

"Yes, well, why out of those chose few did it have to be that baka android. It couldn't have just been the smell. There has to be something else!"

"Something that that idiot Raditz could have been just about to tell me before he chose then to fucking disappear into thin air."

He'd tried to find that place again. He'd tried everything. Mediation hadn't worked at all. He was too unstable to relax. He tried working himself until he passed out again but then nothing. What had pissed him off even more however was that during those little sessions he could feel his power swelling just at the surface of something…something blocking its path. There had always been limits. Limits that he eventually found his way around, but this…this was something different. This was something just recently created. Raditz's words had started to make sense. His power was suffering because of this…

Bond. There he thought it. He wasn't going to say it out loud, but he thought it. It was the first time that he'd even admitted it. But there was no denying it now. He guessed that he'd always known. From the moment he'd committed the act. Why else would he had turned tail and ran the way he had. The vision had just solidified his fears.

"Well you've done it now, baka." He said sourly. "Now what are you going to do to fix this?"

His father, the King had marked one of the servant girls during one of his moments of weakness apparently. His stupidity had not only lead to the death of his queen but the severe crippling of his own power level. Eventually, resulting in the Saiyan race's subjugation to Frieza. And their young prince, him, begin given to Frieza as a 'gesture of good faith'.

It was mind boggling that he'd been created by such a worthless coward.

His father might as well have stabbed himself with that sword right after the girl. His father became weak and foolish. Vegeta refused to let such a thing happen to him.

_"It makes you weak…You give a portion of your power over to the one you've chosen. He thought that killing her would return it, but he was wrong. The King was always so much weaker after this." _

Raditz's words played back in his head. They sent a frosty chill up the prince's spine.

_"…He thought that killing her would return it, but he was wrong…"_

There went Plan A. He couldn't kill that android. Not that he had the power to do so now anyway. Cell had already achieved a power greater than his own. Thanks to him by the way. Another genius strategic move. Damn he was really slipping lately.

But now with his power being crippled by this infernal bond, Vegeta didn't stand a chance in hell against the android. If could just get back that way he was he could a least hope to be of some use at the games.

So if destroying Cell wouldn't set things back that way they were, what would?

"Well you've got a year to figure it out then don't you…baka!" He muttered.

oo0oo

Goku's aqua hued orbs were impossibly wide. He was dumbfounded. Pure and simple. And if it hadn't been for the change of the wind he would have probably never snapped out of it. The sudden adjustment had reintroduced the Saiyan's sensitive nose to the putrid smells of the battle ground. The blood, the smell of oil and burning things, like flesh and metal.

This creature in front of him. The one that had just so pathetically begged him to tell him where Vegeta was had done this. What the hell was going on? Why was Cell so concerned about Vegeta?

"Did you really not hear what I asked you or are you just stupid?"

Cell's venom filled voice cut through Goku's thoughts abruptly. But he wasn't fazed by the words. He'd been called stupid before. As it turned out, most of the time his accused turned out to be just as dumb as they though him to be.

But for some reason he didn't think that was the cause with Cell. Murderous tendencies not with standing, the android didn't seem to be dumb in the least. In fact, Goku had found himself marveling at just how crafty the android really was. It may not have seemed like it to everyone else but tricking Vegeta into letting him become perfect was quite a feat.

However, from what the Saiyan could tell, such a rude comment didn't seem to be in Cell's nature.

"Goku!"

Cell's voice was boarding on downright fury. The Super Saiyan had a random moment to wonder just how good Vegeta was at…sparing. The blush that had blazed its way across Goku's face was apparently quite noticeable because the look on Cell's face was priceless. Goku had feared that the temperamental android just might cut out the middle man and blow the Earth to smithereens. The rage quickly burned its way through the android and his shoulders slumped miserably.

"Look, Goku." He started tiredly. "These people…"

"Can and _will_ be wished back Cell. Once we destroy you."

The look on the android's face didn't change much; he only closed his eyes and nodded slightly.

"Fine. Sure. Anyway, where _is_ Vegeta?"

The Earth reared Saiyan couldn't help but notice that Cell seemed to be a little preoccupied with digging a hole in his shoulder. He didn't even seem to notice he was doing it. But it was bleeding…a lot. Didn't it hurt?

"He's training." Goku answered finally tearing his eyes away.

"Training?!"

Ouh…there goes the fury again. This guy had more mood swings than ChiChi.

"He's fucking training?!"

"Umm…yeah."

Goku was suddenly just the littlest bit afraid.

"That lying little shit!"

"Umm…Cell…I know that this is probably really none of my business but…"

The look the bio android gave him almost stopped Goku in his tracks. Almost anyway.

"What is going on with you and Vegeta? You haven't done anything… unsportsmanlike to him, have you?"

"You were right; it is none of your business. Now leave."

Oh…kay.

"There are still seven days until we meet in battle and I would at least like to keep some of the respect I have for you."

"Fine." Goku relented. "But don't kill anymore people. Self defense or not. They don't stand a chance against you and you know it. It's just not fair."

"Very well."

"And if Vegeta does come back here. Don't you hurt him. He's covered in our deal now too."

Cell merely frowned in reply.

But as Goku walked away, disappearing in the dusty distance, it hit him. Cell didn't think he could hurt the little prince now if he tried.

oo0oo

_"You wouldn't believe what a nice hot shower can do for one's mood."_

It would seem that truer words had never been spoken by that damned android. Vegeta leaned back into the bed. He was fresh from a year's worth of training in the room of Spirit and Time. Every muscle in his body had ached. The hot shower had helped immensely, though he was still a bit sore, he was absolute jelly in the warm sheets of his bed.

Even with all that training his power increase was barely noticeable. That had been infuriating. He was sure the brat had noticed. He'd been tempted to seek out the android as soon as he emerged from the time chamber. But what would he do when he got there?

It wasn't like he could wrestle Cell to the ground again like he had the first time. He wouldn't stand a chance. There was no way that Cell would fall for the old grab the tail bit again. Besides, he if he did fall for it, Vegeta had no idea where to go from there.

_"You could just fuck him again. That was fun. He'd probably let you." _

A year in the chamber with no one but his son for company and Vegeta was finding it hard to disagree with inner Vegeta's logic.

He found that he was helpless against the flood of memories of he and the android's past 'training' sessions. His hand had even began wonder down…

A deep accented voice quickly interrupted his plans however.

"You do know that your ass is a day late for its beating…right?"

Speak of the devil.


	8. Chapter Seven: consummate

**_The Cursed Idle Mind and Bloody Instinct_**

**_Author's Note:_**_ I decided that before I go home for Christmas break that I would leave my faithful readers with this chapter to tide everyone over til I get back. I didn't change anything in this chapter because I honestly didn't think it was that bad. So yes this chapter is a big ole lemon. So if you have a problem with Cell and Vegeta showing their affection for each other physically then you might want to leave...now._

_It's so sad that I have to leave. I won't get any writing done I just know it. Oh well, here goes…_

_Chapter Seven (consummate)_

He probably should have been worried that Cell would kill him. But no, that idea didn't really appeal to him. Besides, the girl in his vision hadn't seemed to have wanted his father dead. Just anyone that stood between them.

He should be glad that Cell appeared to be a whole lot smarter then the girl. And instead of barging through the front door he'd chosen to enter through the window. Although, it wasn't like Vegeta was afraid of dying. He'd been there and done that. No big deal. But it would really suck if the android killed him before he got to fuck him again.

The prince briefly wondered if he'd be forced to spend all eternity with a hard on. Not a pleasant thought.

"I don't take kindly to lairs, Vegeta."

The room was poorly lit. But the Saiyan prince wasn't one for lights and other such ocular annoyances anyway. He could see just fine in the dark. The android was dressed head to toe in that horrendous armor of his. Vegeta couldn't help the thread of disappointment that ran through him. Somewhere deep down he wished Cell would just ditch the stuff all together, or at least wear that Gi he had conjured before. It had been so easy to tear off.

As usual, it was difficult to read the look on Cell's face. That damned head piece he'd insisted on wearing was casting dark shadows over his pale face.

"Where have you been?" The bio mechanically creature asked quietly.

"Training." He answered simply.

Vegeta smiled as something that he'd previously noted occurred. Cell's eyes had a tendency to changed colors. He'd quickly learned that this was the easiest way to decipher the android's mood. In his Perfect form Cell did a damned good job at keeping his facial expressions pretty neutral. But it would seem that the bio android had no control of this little quirk of his. Most of time Cell's eyes stayed their normal pink hue however when you made him angry they darkened. They were almost blood red now.

The Saiyan royal smirked to himself in triumph. So he was getting under the android's skin. But it was nothing when compared to the torment that the man had put him through during his stay in the time chamber. But it was a start. Though, the prospect of repaying the android for his suffering was appealing to the prince, it wasn't exactly what he needed at the moment.

The little voice in the back of his head warned him that Cell was now more than capable of turning him to ash with just a thought. This he acknowledged as being true but he was sure that the android would soon have other things on his mind. Hmm…how to get him out of the ridiculous armor?

"I thought we had an agreement, Vegeta. I never thought of you as one to go back on your word. I believed you had more pride then that."

Vegeta didn't respond at first. He just stared back at the tall android, a teasing smirk on his face.

"Did you miss me?" He finally said.

The sound of Vegeta's husky voice sent unexpected shivers up Cell's spine. He was furious with the little lair. Why would he just leave without telling him? He'd been…

All thought processes ceased suddenly as the Saiyan prince slowly fell back onto the bed. It was strange how the poor unsuspecting creature had not noticed Vegeta's state of undress before. The prince was completely nude. He also seemed to have missed the fact that the room reeked with the smell of the smaller man's arousal.

"Well?" Vegeta purred.

The prince's voice cut through his muddled thoughts causing Cell to focus on the sight in front of him. Vegeta was splayed out on the bed, shamelessly displaying himself. The scent of soap and coconut lingered in the air mingling with the natural spicy scent of the Saiyan.

_"Heh…I've memorized his scent. It doesn't mean anything. I memorize everything." _Cell thought absently.

The android's stare never wavered as the prince of all Saiyans began to pleasure himself. Hands tracing over erect nipples and thick muscle trailing down to his abdomen. The other, shinnying with an oily substance, closing around his engorged member. The bio android observed attentively as Vegeta slowly stroked his straining erection. A contented little smirk on his face his eyes closed off from the rest of the world.

His breath quickened. He could feel his face flushing red and every drop of sweat as it beaded on his skin. He let a moan slip throw his lips as he rolled his hips in time with his movements. He even took a moment to open his eyes just enough to see how the android was fairing. It _was _quite an exhibition of Saiyan debauchery he was putting on.

He was sure that Cell hadn't noticed that his own breathing had deepened and that his face was flushed that usual shade of violet. He stifled a chuckle as he watched the android loosen the strap of his head piece and pull it off. The thick colorless spikes of the creature's unruly fringe fell over fascinated magenta orbs.

Vegeta smirked in victory. Nonetheless his torment continued and he proceeded stroking himself with new found vigor.

"Cell…" He half purred half growled.

Oh the look on the poor man's face… Vegeta could have died right then and he would have felt like his life had been complete. The android dropped to his knees.

He watched patiently as Cell scooted closer, leaning slightly over the side of the bed to get a closer look. The pale creature's large eyes blinked slowly as he took in every inch of gleaming bronzed flesh. He was close enough now that Vegeta was able to grab a tuff of snow tinted locks and initiate a kiss.

The android pulled away panting for breath and looking into his eyes intently. It was fascinating how so many emotions the creature could convey with just his eyes. They had long since faded back to their usual pink tone, but now they were darkening again. But not to the alarming red hue they took on in his many fits of rage but to a new color. One Vegeta couldn't admit to seeing before. They were as purple as his son's hair. Interesting…

"I did **not** miss you." Cell said quietly.

The Saiyan prince chuckled in response.

"Enough of your sweet talk, android. Strip."

oo0oo

It had to have been some sort of trick or something. Or one of those weird Namekian powers that the android had inherited because it was simply astounding how fast Cell had gotten out of that armor of his. It had looked pretty complicated but Vegeta supposed that was just all for show.

The prince didn't really care that much one way or the other about it at this point. Because at the moment he was busy trying to breathe. Apparently super powered alien androids had no real need for oxygen, because Cell had been kissing him rather aggressively for the past five minutes with no signs of stopping for breath.

It also didn't help much that he was less than three quarters the android's size and that that fact was one of the main reasons he was having so much trouble with the breathing thing. Cell had to be about 230 pounds of solid muscle. Not that was a whole lot for a Saiyan to deal with but in the context of fucking and not fighting it was a bit of a problem.

Vegeta pressed the heels of his palms into Cell's chest. In the end he had to buck his entire body violently to get his point across. Although, the huge grin on the android's face gave the prince the sneaking suspicion that his complaint had been misinterpreted. That aside, that grin of Cell's was vaguely disturbing. It had immediately reminded him of the great orange baka. Wonderful. Just what he needed when he was trying to fuck. The image of that annoying idiot was not encouraging.

"Stop smiling at me like that." The prince said warily.

The android didn't say anything. The smile he was wearing lowly turned into a smirk (A damned sexy smirk at that. Wonder where he got that from.) and ground into the smaller male beneath him. Causing the most wonderful friction between their overheated bodies, effectively bring Vegeta back to the matter at hand. Ah yes, fucking.

Vegeta spread his legs and wrapped them around the Cell's narrow waist and rolled his hips wantonly. Rubbing their erections together and prompting a deep groan from the bio android. Cell began a trail of wet kisses from the Saiyan's jaw line to the dip of his neck. Pausing at the place where his shoulder met to sucking and nipping at it.

The prince set about preparing them both. He wrapped his slippery palm around the android's erection causing him to hiss through his teeth. He then without any sort of warning he squeezed his thighs tighter pulling Cell inside of him.

Two things happened at that moment. The first, Vegeta instantly wished that he had spent just a bit more time preparing himself. The second, someone had apparently hit Cell in the stomach with a 2X4… made of steel… while he wasn't looking…or powered up because the look on the androids face was...quite satisfying actually. It made the prince's brief discomfort worth it all.

They stayed that way for a moment longer. The both of them taking the time to adjust to the joining. Vegeta lay there as still as he could, panting silently for breath absorbed in the feeling of the pulsing hardness within him. Cell was propped up on unsteady palms, eyes closed tightly, breathing heavily through his mouth, tail lashing languidly behind him. The prince rolled his hips pushing the android's length even deeper than it had been before.

He pried his fingers from the bruising death grip he'd had on Cell's pale shoulder and grabbed a pillow from above his head and shoved it underneath him.

"There…now move dammit!" He commanded.

No sooner then the worlds left Vegeta's mouth Cell began thrusting into him at an inhuman pace. The bed…hell the entire room began shaking with the sheer force that the android used to drive into him. The prince was shaking as well his body tensing up with every stroke. His knees were pressed flush against his chest and he couldn't breathe…dammit! Stupid weak fucking body… he didn't need to breathe! Just as long as the android keep doing that.

He ran callused hands up and down the creature's nearly flawless skin. Spreading the drops of sweat that had gathered at the surface causing Cell to quiver and groan, muttering his name mindlessly. It brought a grin to the Saiyan face. He was the only one that would ever see the murdered this way. Shaking with need and lust. He took great pride in that. That in this he was more than capable of defeating this creature.

And then Cell rocked his hips forward hitting the sweetest of spots within him and he lost it…again. He bit down into the android's shoulder down through the scared flesh and muscle, the coppery taste of the being's life fluid washing over his tongue as he emptied himself between the tow of them. His head lolled back tendrils of his own sable hair falling into his face. But Cell's pace only quickened, his strokes becoming even more violent. His gasps and grunts intensifying.

The prince had begun to make out another coherent word among the nonsense the android's muttering had dissolved into.

_"Mine." _

He was muttering it softly, breathlessly over and over. His warm breathe tickling the tingling skin on Vegeta's neck.

"Yes…" the prince hissed.

He was close now. Vegeta' hand ran down and over the tensing muscles in the android's back. Down further to where the creature's soft tail met the end of his spine. He dug blunted nails into the flesh there and the reaction was instantaneous. The bio android erupted in a primal snarl and finally sunk his teeth into the vulnerable flesh of the prince's shoulder.

Vegeta couldn't help the sigh of relief. Finally, the fucking android figured it out. Cell pulled away from the bleeding wound. His mouth stained with the prince's blood. He claimed the Saiyan's mouth in a deep kiss sharing the taste of the royal blood. He rested his forehead against the small prince's his strokes slower now. Punctuating each word with a lazy thrust, his entire body bow tight.

"I…did…not…miss…you." He choked out finally finding his release.

**_(to be continued…)_**


	9. Chapter Eight: radiate

**_The Cursed Idle Mind and Bloody Instinct_**

_Chapter Eight (radiate)_

There was a thin layer of fog clouding his normally overactive mind. It was as the world was moving forward at sluggish pace. His heart was beating a bit slower than usual. He could hear his own breathing clearly in his hears. He was enveloped in the sound of nothingness. Even the thought of moving only a little troubled him because the sound of the creaking mattress would shatter the comfortable haze he had going. So he just sat there perfectly content in watching the little prince as he slept.

The tip of the android's tail curled and uncurled in time with his own heartbeat. Cell didn't truly know what to make of this feeling. He never really experienced it before. He'd even gone as far as to scan his memories of the Z fighters in hopes of deciphering the name for this strange feeling. He wasn't particularly excited. Or agitated. He was almost completely numb really; well if it was for the pleasant tingling of cooling blood and healing skin on his wounded shoulder. Cell felt like nothing in the world could bother him. (It wasn't like there was much that actually could, but you get my meaning right?)

He was numb…and calm…and content. The bio android let a smirk tug at the corner of his pale lips. This was… nice. It could be so simply described. Why had he been trying to label it anything else? He could do this for a hundred years and never get tired of it.

Though with all the lovely sagging laziness of body and mind aside, there was still something just beyond the fog in his brain. The piercing light of a question was still able to cut through.

* * *

He cracked his left eye open just enough to confirm his suspicions. Try as he might he couldn't help the feeling he was being watched. Sure enough, upon finally giving in and taking a look he was greeted with the sight of the android sitting just to the side of him. Cell was hunched over slightly, slouching lazily, his pristinely white tail flicking listlessly beside him.

Faint moon light illuminated the room causing the man's pale skin to take on an ethereal radiance. In this light the creature seemed nothing of the sort to have ruthlessly taken the lives of so many. In this moment Cell seemed almost angelic in nature.

Vegeta sat up on his elbows and took in the curious sight. But it was those eyes that broke the spell. Those same gleaming magenta pools that looked upon him so questioningly, were the eyes of a demon. A demon, as fate would have it, that now happened to belong to him.

"I don't think I can kill you now."

"…"

The Prince had been surprised by Cell's sudden admission; rendered completely speechless by it actually.

"What did you do to me? I asked you before but you didn't answer. You just disappeared for a whole day leaving me to wonder."

Vegeta didn't answer straight away. He simply watched as Cell began to fidget briefly. Ebon tipped fingers instinctively going for the newly reopened wound on his shoulder.

"What does this mean?" The android asked.

The Prince had figured he'd have to explain himself sooner or later. The revelation that the android didn't think he could kill him now was an added relief, though he'd still been dreading this moment.

Cell continued to look at him expectantly. Leading Vegeta to but a moment later, let the words slip from him mouth.

"It means that you belong to me. It signifies the claim I have on you now."

The creature's eyes narrowed, a slight frown marring the handsome face as he let the words sink in.

"Then yours would mean the same, yes?" He spoke softly. His voice a lot calmer than the prince had been expecting.

"It means that you belong to me as well."

The Saiyan prince sighed heavily.

A devilish grin sprung upon Cell's face making his scarlet eyes shine inhumanly. This was not an easy thing for Vegeta to swallow; belonging to anyone let alone this bothersome creature. But those large eyes were fixed on him blinking only when absolutely necessary. And as a result, he found himself uttering damning words once again.

"Yes. I suppose you would be correct in that assumption." He finally replied.

He propped himself up against the head of the bed (or what remained of it) a wince slipping through his stone faced façade. The smirk on the android's face did not go unnoticed.

"Smug are we?" The prince grimaced.

"Shouldn't I be?" Cell smiled. "You seemed to enjoy yourself the last time we did this. I thought it was proper etiquette."

"You shouldn't get used to it. The next time I won't be the one playing the bitch."

An overly amused smile encompassed the cyborg's face causing Vegeta to frown in response. Before the prince could say a word he found himself pinned underneath a grinning Cell. The creature's peculiar eyes locked on his.

"I thought the more powerful of the pair was the dominant one?" Cell said leaning in so closely that his pointed nose was touching the other man's.

Vegeta growled low in his throat.

"I am your prince. I will not play the woman to some bastard Saiyan crossbreed!"

Cell's eyes darkened suddenly as his grip on the Saiyan's wrists tightened, his grin turning devious.

"That's right. You are _my _prince. Which means you will be whatever I want you to be."

Vegeta's stomach twisted in rage.

_"How dare he?!"_

Cell remained oblivious to the prince's protests however as he nuzzled the side of the Saiyan royal's face inhaling the unique odor that the mixture of their scents had created. The smell was surprisingly pleasing, warming a previously ignored organ in the android's chest.

"I do not care to be dominant or submissive in this little game of ours Vegeta." Cell purred. "I only wish to continue it. If that is alright with you?"

"Trust you to be fooled by your ridiculous hormones, android." Vegeta replied snidely.

Despite his outward appearance, Cell's admission had completely blindsided the prince. He had not expected the android to be so candid. But it was extremely comforting not to mention awfully soothing to his damaged ego. To actually be wanted unconditionally, though his admirer happened to be a power crazed killer android bent on destroying the Earth, it was still encouraging. Though, this new development left a very large question lingering.

"But what of your plans android?" Vegeta asked hesitantly.

The spell was suddenly broken. Confusion briefly fluttered over Cell's face but was quickly replaced by a frown. The bio android eased up the hold he had on him noticeably. Those crimson orbs had dropped from the Saiyan's own but Vegeta did not need to see them to know what was going on in the creature's head. The sound of the agitated lashing of Cell's tail was enough of an indication. The android was at war with himself.

It would seem that the creature had conveniently forgotten his purpose. To even imagine something else for himself blatantly went against the programming that was ingrained in each and every cell of his being. So Cell did the only thing that he could… he avoided the inevitable. There was no point in worrying about something that even he in all his perfect glory could not change.

"It has become apparent to me that I do miss you when you are gone." Cell suddenly said. "And I would miss _this_ if I for some reason I was ever forced to kill you. You have nothing to fear from me. I was created to destroy Son Goku. When that directive is fulfilled I am free to do as I please."

"Hn." Vegeta grunted. "So, what is it that you are saying, android?"

The sneer on the prince's face suddenly morphed into a cocky smirk.

"You don't actually think you _love_ me do you?" Vegeta spit the offending word out with undeniable distain.

Cell's facial expression didn't change at all. Vegeta was vaguely disappointed until the noticed that the android was gritting his teeth.

"No… I don't." Cell finally said. "I… I am not susceptible to such trivial emotions."

"Really?" The raven-haired man said as leaned back comfortably into the pillows behind him. "Good. I would hate to have to use such nonsense against you. It would be terribly un-sportsmanlike of me."

Cell didn't even bother to reply he only pulled the small prince closer. Leaving to Vegeta lay uncomfortably in the android's embrace. It would seem that Cell had no intention of answering him. If the steady puffs of warm breath on the crook of his neck were any indication.

He could not help the thread of fear that ran through him at being locked in such a vulnerable position. Could he really allow the android to have such familiarity with him? Could he really allow himself this? It wasn't like he really cared for this creature. It was just sex. Sure it was great sex. Primal and lustful. Saiyan in all it's sweaty glory. Oh how he'd missed it. But in the end it was just sex. He had not the slightly bit of feeling for this… android.

He had convinced him self of this but found that he was curious as to what the android was thinking. Though he could not let Cell know it. He could not let the other man even suspect that he feared for the continued existence of the planet that he now called home. And he would not dare admit that he was even minutely worried about the lives of the people that he associated with on a semi regular basis… not to mention the family that had seemed to fall out of no where.

He watched the android's face relax as he dozed.

"I thought you didn't sleep, android." The prince asked lamely.

"I can if I wish." Cell answered lazily pulling the Saiyan deeper into the embrace.

"I wouldn't advise it. I might remember who you are and what you plan to do. I just might kill you."

"You wouldn't do that." The android murmured.

"And why wouldn't I?"

Cell sighed, causing the prince to remain silent for a few moments.

"If you said was the truth, then that whole thing about hunting down all the humans and killing them was all your own idea?"

Cell chuckled. Vegeta was so close to the other man now that he could feel the vibrations the act had caused rattling in the android's chest. He cut his eyes in the Cell's direction and sneer playing over his sharp features. The Saiyan couldn't blame Cell though. It was true that he didn't particularly care much for humans either. But his family was now included in the lot thus the comment had bothered Vegeta much more than he would have liked.

"Yes." Cell finally answered. "But I only said it to get the strongest fighters to enter my tournament."

"Though, I probably would have killed each and every one of them if need be. I don't see much point to it now. It would be like shooting fish in a barrel. I am much too powerful now for it to be a challenge."

That last remark had set the prince's blood boiling. Thoughts of all the training he'd done in vain to defeat this creature. Only to allow him to reach his perfect form and effectively sealing the Earth's doom.

Even after that utter failure he had agreed to participate in those stupid little games of Cell's. All in hopes of finding the creature's weakness so that he could be the one to destroy him and regain his stupid pride. Only to fail so completely once again. Though the spectacularness of this failure made all others pale in comparison.

It was pointless now to dwell on such things though. Besides, in a way he had already achieved the goal he'd set out for. He'd conquered the big bad monster in a way that no one could have imaged. Although, it hadn't evolved his pride being restored and having Kakarot bow at his feet in awe of his strength. What was even more disconcerting was that Vegeta didn't even find that as appealing as he once had. Had he truly lost all interest in what had previously been the driving force of his life? What had this blasted android done to him?

He signed softly. He'd gotten himself into this mess and had yet to figure his way out. He'd only managed to balance the bond he and the android now shared. He could virtually feel his ki balancing out and returning to normal as well. This was true but what did it really matter. He was no match for Cell now. He'd been forced to sit back in the shadows, denied his glory yet again.

These idiotic games Cell had planned were now becoming an even bigger pain in the ass then they had been before. Not that he cared really, but someone was definitely going to die in the end and for reasons beyond Vegeta's comprehension he wasn't particularly at ease with the idea.

**_(to be continued…)_**


	10. Chapter Nine: commence

**_The Cursed Idle Mind and Bloody Instinct_**

_**Author's Note**: You know it wasn't until I was watching my Cell Games DVDs and reading the manga in preparation for the next few chapters, that I realized that those idiot students of Hercule or Mr. Satan's were only on the show. Thus I decided that I'd be mostly sticking to the manga with just a few references to the show. That is all…get to reading._

**_Chapter Nine (commence) _**

The past few days had not been all that eventful. Well if you didn't count the fighting, brutal and savage as it was. He had not fought like that since his fight with Kakarot and his friends during his first trip to Earth. Then there was the sex, which most of the time even rivaled their sparing in its ferocity. And then, of course, there was the snuggling. Which had taken a lot of getting used to on Vegeta's part.

For the life of him he could not understand the android's need to nuzzle him after they fucked. For Kami's sake, the idiot was ten times worse then the blue haired onna had ever been. With Bulma it had only taken one time of him shoving her violently out of his bed and the woman had gotten the picture. But it was another story all together with the great white baka. For at the time being, the prince just was not strong enough to shove Cell anywhere.

Vegeta had assumed that it had something to do with the amount of Kakarot's DNA that Cell possessed. He'd even gone as far as to ask the other man why he insisted on such an annoyance. To which the android only replied with snuggling him even more, if that were at all possible.

He was positive at that point that Cell wasn't even sure why he did it. It being such an obvious abnormality in the creature's usual behavior and all. Not that Vegeta had paid enough attention to the android as to get a decisive idea as to what actually was normal behavior for him. All in all however, it all had been a tolerable experience. Well once he'd regained his position as the dominant in the scheme of things anyway.

Power levels aside, the prince of Saiyans was not going to be the bitch in any relationship. Not that what he and the android had was an actual relationship or anything.

Nonetheless the steady routine had put the prince in a strange state of tranquility. He was never tranquil. Peace was for the weak. Peace caused one to lose their edge and have things that normally would have been quite apparent sneak up on them and cause unwanted surprises. Vegeta hated surprises even more then he hated tranquility.

All things being equal, Vegeta had still been taken by quite a great deal of surprise when he awoke this morning. This had occurred once his mind had realized what his body had already known for quite sometime. He was cold. He hadn't been cold in the morning for almost a week. The android was curiously nowhere to be found. He wouldn't have been anywhere in Capsule Corp, though the woman did know about the android's presence.

That moment had been one of absolute hilarity. Bulma had caught the two of them in a decidedly compromising position. Vegeta had actually been surprised that it had taken the normally extremely nosy scientist so long to come looking for him. Especially with all the noise he and the android had been making. Not to mention the fact that the mattresses of many of CC bed's had gone missing. (They had continuously gone through those pretty quickly once they'd demolished the bed.)

The look on the woman's face had been priceless. She should have knocked. Not that they would have heard her but still, it was just common decency. So she had gotten exactly what she'd deserved. Luckily, because he had not intention of taking care of the wailing brat of his in the near future, (well not until it could at least walk) Cell had taken the intrusion all in stride. Not even trying to blast the nosy onna into the next dimension.

The woman had come to the room earlier this morning to ask if he intended on entering the android's silly tournament. It had been then that he had noticed what day it was and why it was that Cell was missing. He'd actually kept to his idiotic word. He actually intended to have those stupid games.

Thus Vegeta found himself shooting toward the location of Cell's arena with every intention of giving the big bastard a piece of his mind.

oo0oo

When the alleged Martial Arts Champion of World first showed up at his arena, Cell had not been impressed. The news crew however had been a pleasant surprise. Well not really, but it was still a good thing. Mr. Satan or Hercule as the newscaster called him was an embarrassment to the human race. Posing and as a true skilled warrior. Cell had no intention of wasting his time on him. But the bumbling fool seemed dead set on committing suicide. And if he had too the bio android wouldn't think twice in granting the man his wish.

That however would have to wait, because not ten minutes after the arrival of that idiot Hercule, Vegeta showed up.

Cell felt a familiar knot in the pit of his stomach. It was the same feeling he'd had when he'd first fought the prince in his second form. The same feeling he'd had when he'd realized that he was not yet powerful enough to defeat the little bastard. He had been utterly and completely pissed. Among other things, but pissed was what this was.

The strange thing was that Cell wasn't actually pissed off about anything. So far things were going pretty much according to his plans. It didn't seem as if anyone had forgotten his tournament. Of course Son Goku had yet to show, but the Saiyan had made a promise and it was still early yet… It wasn't until the prince touched down that Cell noticed the deep scowl plastered on the other man's face. The emotion that the creature had been experiencing was rolling of the flamed haired prince in waves.

That was odd. It would seem that there were more aspects to this supposed 'bond' of theirs then Vegeta had previously explained. Empathy. How interesting.

Cell merely turned the upper half of his body slightly, not moving one inch from the spot his feet were planted in. He locked eyes with the prince, the mutual stare never wavering. But there was something clouding the Saiyan's already murky orbs, something that even Cell could not decipher.

_"Idiot."_

Cell could have sworn he'd heard the prince's voice. But his mouth had not moved at all. And even over the distance between them, it had sounded so close. But the tone, the texture of the word had sounded almost ghostly to the android. Could it be… could it have only been in his head?

"What fascinating creatures you Saiyans are." He muttered aloud softly

Vegeta's eyes narrowed dangerously. Cell could not feel certain sense of vertigo suddenly. The festering pit he'd felt in his stomach and grown heavy all of a sudden throwing him off balance. He chest constricted painfully as he noticed the change in the small Saiyan's eyes. There was a strange sense of foreboding…of dread.

But whatever for? Cell had already explained his intentions to his little prince. He had no intention of taking his life. Not if he did not need to. Could it be that Vegeta was upset because _he_ would not be Goku's end?

Cell attention was drawn in the opposite direction upon sensing and odd shift in the air. It was so infinitesimal that he was probably the only one to sense it. He soon spotted the approaching energy high above. Though he could not sense the energy itself it was still visible. It was Android #16. Now this was definitely a surprise.

"Bulma and the old man have restored that thing back to full power. What a waste of time."

Cell's eyes narrowed as the thought entered his mind. It was of course not his own. It was Vegeta again. He wondered if the prince even knew he was projected so.

"A waste of time you say?" Cell asked aloud. Turning his attention back to the Saiyan prince. "Oh, I don't think so. Perhaps Sixteen will serve some entertaining purpose during the tournament. The more the merrier don't you agree Vegeta?"

The prince's eyes widened drastically before the scowl reappeared on his face. Vegeta had had his suspicions about the limits and capabilities that their bonding would inflict upon them. Telepathy was one of the first things he'd considered, so he'd erected a mental shield in defense. Although it seemed now that now even the shield could keep his…_mate_ from having access to his thoughts.

He had been about to scream something rude at the trespassing android direction but it was then that the other Bain of his existence decided to show up.

"Kakarot."

And he had brought the other losers along with him. Why did they even waste their time showing up? If he wasn't able to defeat Cell what on Earth made them think that they had a snowball's chance in hell of even getting close enough to the man to even land a punch.

"Ah, finally some true competition." Cell said aloud. "I've been waiting a long time for this Son Goku."

Vegeta was suddenly filled with overwhelming need to destroy the younger Saiyan. Not that he had not felt the need to do so on numerous other occasions but at this moment he had never hated the man as much as he did now. It was then that the truth hit him. He was jealous.

He was fucking jealous?! Jealous of what?!

Look at them, the way they were staring at each other. Like a pair of pitiful ningen lovers. He'd seen that stare before on the cover of one of those worthless romance novels the onna's mother liked to read. But there was no way. Kakarot couldn't possibly be interested in Cell.

_"Why not? You certainly are."_ There was the accursed voice again.

He could hear himself growling aloud and could do nothing to stop it.

"Uh… if it really means that much to you, I could go second."

Vegeta snapped out of his angry thoughts only to find the man he'd been fantasizing about killing standing next to him. He fought down the embarrassed blush that threatened to bloom on his face and snarled:

"What did you say?!"

"I just asked if it would be okay if I went next?" Goku asked timidly. "I mean Mr. Satan already took his turn and well as you can see, that didn't turn out too well."

"What?"

The prince looked around and found that Mr. Satan had indeed taken his turn and miraculously was still breathing. Though his face looked like it had been run over by a truck. The idiot news reporter and camera man where gathered around him squawking uselessly.

"I asked you early and you never answered." The young Saiyan continued. "I guess the guy took it as his chance to fight Cell."

"Hn… Do whatever you want. Its not as if I care if you get yourself killed." Vegeta barked suddenly.

"Oh okay." Then the baka suddenly brightened. "Thanks a lot Geta!" he chirped and slapped the prince on the back affectionately.

Before the prince could regain his balance and charge up an effective Ki blast the big fool was already stepping up into the ring.

oo0oo

Goku landed with a tile crushing stop on the arena floor with Cell landing leisurely a few seconds behind him.

"That should do for a warm up, don't you think Goku?"

"Yeah, it was pretty good. But maybe we should start playing for real now."

"I'd thought you'd never ask."

The green armored bio android watched as the Super Saiyan powered up to full. He couldn't help the grin that grew along with Goku's energy. He had waited so long to finally reach his perfection. Only to find that there seemed to be no one strong enough for him to test his strength with. Now there seemed to be some hope. Son Goku's power had increased dramatically. Now he would finally be able to test the perfection he'd worked so hard to achieve.

With a mere batting of his eyes, Cell powered up to match the Saiyan smirking all the while.

Finally a true fight, he'd waited ten whole days for this. Not that he hadn't found something just as entertaining to do with his time. As his power radiated around him, he turned to see the looked on Vegeta's face. The small Saiyan was perspiring profusely. The android smirk softened.

_"Nothing to fear, remember."_ He sent mentally to his mate.

The Saiyan's eyes flashed as he locked on to his stare, his mouth pressing into a thin line.

_"I do not fear you."_ Vegeta sent back.

"I would never want you to."

"Shall we begin, Goku?" Cell said returning his attention to the task at hand.

"Let's." Goku said a fierce stare fixed only on him.

**_(to be continued…)_**


	11. Chapter Ten: eviscerate

**_The Cursed Idle Mind and Bloody Instinct_**

**_Author's Note:_**_ There's a reason these last two chapters jumped around so much. They are pretty much the Cell Games Saga rehashed in prose form and I didn't want to totally cop the whole thing. I changed very little and even ended up using lines straight from the manga. I didn't like doing that and it made the writing of these chapters take longer then it probably should have. But in the end I was happy with how they turned out. Oh, there's a descent surprise at the end of this one. I bet'cha didn't see that one coming. Or maybe you did. Oh well… enjoy. _

**_Chapter Ten (eviscerate)_**

"You what?"

His voice had been so very calm. Much to his own surprise. Though he had never been one for letting his emotions get the better of him. Well, most of the time anyway. But what he'd just heard had most definitely pushed him to his limits. He'd almost fell completely from the sky.

"I said, I give up."

Ok. He had not been mistaken. Though he did feel quite stupid at the moment. And he had thought that the man had had some sense. What exactly had he been thinking?

"And just what the hell does that supposed to mean!"

Goku's eyes widened in response, his face flushing red slightly, a confused expression flittering over his features.

"Um…it means that I give up, Cell. You win. I can't beat you." The Saiyan uttered slow and deliberately.

Well this was certainly anti-climatic.

"You can't just give up, Goku."

Cell's tone had been one of barely contained annoyance. But the Saiyan couldn't possibly expect him to take him seriously, could he?

"Why not?" Goku asked innocently. "Since you changed the rules, it became sort of a free-for-all, didn't it? That means that the only way to lose is to die or concede defeat, right? Well then, I concede defeat."

The android couldn't help the growl that gurgled from his throat. Perhaps the man wasn't so stupid after all.

"Fine… Goku. But since you insist on being such an utter coward, then you alone have the destruction of the Earth to bare on your shoulders."

"Oh no, the tournament's not over yet." Goku quickly cut in.

To this the bio android scoffed accordingly.

"Who could possibly be a challenge to me now that you've turned tail and ran?"

An extremely uncharacteristic smirk graced the Super Saiyan's face.

"Oh, I didn't turn tail, Cell. I was just breaking you in."

The android's eyes widened a millimeter in a brief fit of outrage. But it quickly passed. Who in their right mind would be offended by such an fool as this?

"Breaking me in?" a smirk of his own. "For who pray tell? Trunks? Vegeta? Piccolo? Heh, none of them stand a chance against me. Even now, in my… slightly winded state." A wicked grin.

"I'll tell you. But… you have to promise that this match will be the last…No matter what. Whoever wins this round wins the tournament."

What passed for an eyebrow on Cell's helm covered head raised in response. But if Goku was promising someone even stronger than himself, how could he pass up the chance. Though where exactly this mystery fighter was going to appear from eluded him. Goku had never lied to him before though. Besides, what could it really hurt? He'd already proven that he could decimate this planet with merely a wave of his hand. He could afford a bit more playtime.

"Very well. I accept your terms, Goku." Cell finally said. "Now stop stalling and tell me who this mystery savior is."

The grin on Goku's face was slightly disturbing. What was it with these Saiyans? Cell swore that he'd never understand them. But the icy chill that went up his spine could not have possibly been real.

He cut his sight to the cliff side. His eyes resting firmly on the flamed haired prince, he couldn't help the grin.

_"Are you worried, my dear Vegeta? Now, now, I told you. Nothing to fear." _

His perfect form was alive and buzzing with energy. He'd just fought one of the best battles in all his life and had bested the great Son Goku. And now he would even get the chance to test his skills further.

"Good, because if _he_ loses, there'll be nobody else who can beat you." Goku said in return. "But I know after trying my hand against you… that he _can_ beat you."

"Humph…"

"That's why I'm leaving it all…"

Goku turned to the cliff edge,

"To you… son!"

"Wha…"

"That's right!" The Super Saiyan hero yelled. "You're up Gohan!"

oo0oo

_"Gohan!"_

Vegeta had never been privy to simultaneous screaming in his head before. And upon his first experience with it, he found that it was actually quite painful. That plus the horrendous screeching of everyone else that happened to not be his mate only made things worse for his poor ears. He'd have a headache for weeks after this day of hell.

While it did start off somewhat promising, the boy had shocked everyone with his power level, that idiot Kakarot hadn't seem phased at all. Gohan's ki was even stronger then his own, Kakarot's even. It was unbelievable the amount of energy that was oozing out of the runt's body.

But of course it all ended in disappointment. It always ended in disappointment.

The boy was weak. His human half had gotten the better of him.

oo0oo

For a few moments things has seemed promising. The behavior of these people only got stranger by the moment. Son Goku had offered up his own son. And to make things even odder he'd given Cell a senzu bean.

_"Cell's exhausted."_ He'd told his bald little friend. _"It wouldn't be a fair fight." _

"Indeed." Cell scoffed as he watched the pile of rubble with lazy non-interest.

According to Goku, somewhere underneath that mess his son was still breathing. The boy had put up a descent fight despite all his flaws. But in the end, even after the impressive light show Son Gohan had been nothing but an absolute joke.

However, just as Cell was about to turn around and scream yet another challenge in Goku's direction he was met with quite the surprise. Son Gohan. He was still breathing… Well would you look at that.

The battered boy seemed to be pretty steady on his feet. And he was even coherent enough to rattle off some nonsense about not wanting to fight him because he'd kill him. Yeah right. But he seemed to be pretty confident in the fact. He'd mentioned something about some supposedly incredible power that was lurking inside of him. And if he…Cell that is… was so desperate for a good fight then all he had to do was severely piss him… Gohan… off and he'd get it.

Do tell.

Well, now things were certainly getting interesting.

oo0oo

The torment had begun innocently enough, though nothing too out of the ordinary for the bio android. After an extremely lucky kick (the god of this pathetic planet must have felt sorry for the boy), he'd proceeded to trounce little Son Gohan. Even wrapping his arms around him and cracking a few of the boy's ribs with one Piccolo's favored techniques for good measure. But it seemed that all of it was in vain.

Son Gohan could not be reached that way. His own pain, while it would have been more then enough for Cell, it had not been quite as effective in pissing the eleven year old off.

Eleven years old. Cell had to scoff at the thought. The situation was laughable. He, the mightiest creature in the known universe, was fighting an eleven-year-old child. Utterly ridiculous.

But curiosity was apparently something not even the good Dr. Gero had taken into account during his creation. And it had certainly gotten the better of Cell. It didn't matter though, even with this amazing power the boy spoke of there was no way in hell that he would stand a chance against him. But there was always the chance that the boy would put up a descent fight.

Anything was better then this travesty that he was being forced to suffer through now.

So after finally coming up with a particularly brilliant plan to get the real Son Gohan to show himself. Cell proceeded to scare the living day lights out of Goku's little nose less friend (thank god he didn't take after that midget) by snagging the bag of senzus right out his hand.

And of course the little half-breed had something to say about that. The boy talked too much if you asked Cell. But he'd put up with it… if he had too. He'd be silencing the little brat for good soon enough anyway.

"What are you doing!"

Cell could only laugh at the youngster's obliviousness.

"Isn't it obvious, Gohan? I'll do anything to see the power of your unleashed rage! As long as you bottle it up, your friends will suffer!"

"Please, don't." Gohan pleaded as he lay on the ground, nearly in tears.

Begging. How easy it was for him to get the child to beg him to stop. I mean, he had apparently been raised by weaklings. Sniveling cowards, every last one of them. Why would anyone be afraid to unleash their own power in fight?

"I…I don't know how to control it myself!" the young Super Saiyan continued. "That's why I can't do it!"

As if he really gave a damn.

"…And that's why I'm going to make your friends suffer." Cell said annoyed.

Insert ridiculously slow battle charge here. Gods the boy was pathetic.

"If you're going to get mad, do it for real!" Cell roared as he booted Gohan into the rumble he'd previously emerged from.

And that's when it happened. Something totally unexpected, though Cell would have never admitted to it. He had been taken completely off guard. I mean, really, who in their right mind would have ever thought that Android 16 would have the nerve to pounce on him like some deranged affection starved teenaged human fan girl?

Well this was… embarrassing.

It seemed by the sound of things that everyone else was just as stunned as he was.

Oh gods and now he had to listen to that horribly droning voice up close and entirely too personal.

"Forgive me for sacrificing all of you!" The idiot android yelled. Even his words lumbered just as badly as he did. "I'll have to blow myself up along with Cell!"

Just fucking great. Hadn't he had to regenerate himself enough today? I mean when Goku had blown the top half of him off it had been a surprise to everyone that he'd been able to bounce back unscathed.

Hadn't this idiot been watching earlier? He was going to kill all of…

Not a moment later Cell found himself staring up at the disturbingly smoke filled sky with a rather nasty crick in his neck. He sat up quickly of course trying his very best not to look around like an idiot and whip his head around rapidly trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.

It was deathly silent and for just a moment he'd thought that Sixteen had actually gone through with it and blown himself up taking every one else with him.

oo0oo

It was as if everything within the span of those few minutes had happened in the style of one of those horrid action scenes in those stupid earthling movies. He'd not even had a chance to fully identify the feeling that had suddenly washed over him. All he could remember was that Kakarot's brat had been getting his scrawny tail whipped by Cell. The bastard android had even come and snatched the bag of senzu beans right out of ol' chrome dome's hand.

That moment Vegeta remembered had been particularly amusing despite the circumstances.

The Saiyan prince also remembered that hunk of metal, Android 16 pulling the most idiotic move he'd ever seen in all his life. He'd surprised Cell and caught him in a bare hug. Then he started screaming about blowing himself up and taking everyone with him. Including Cell.

_His_ mate.

**_Sigh_**

He should have known it would come to this.

If anyone was going to kill that arrogant son of an android bitch, it would be him.

Thus the world had flashed a blinding shade of red eventually ending with him standing down in the field of battle chugging for air and his head spinning. He glanced at the ground about him and found it littered with scraps of metal and computer chips. And there, lying not ten feet away was the head of the one who had dared even think of touching his mate. Before he knew it Vegeta was kicking the heap of scrap clear to the other side of the barren field of dust.

A sneer painted the royal face as he watched the decapitated cranium bounce off the side of the cliff and tumble to the ground. Finally, he turned his attention back to the stunned crowd.

Son Gohan sat on his knees gaping. The rest of Kakarot's precious Z fighters weren't fairing well either. Though, Kakarot himself had managed to keep his mouth closed a frown planted on his stupid face. None of their reactions fazed the small prince at all. Not even that of his own son. There was but one that had caused the barest flutter of emotion, the one belonging to his mate's.

Cell looked upon him with a slight smirk.

An odd sort of pride lingered. He'd protected his mate. It was only natural.

"My hero." Cell finally said a huge grin blooming on his pale face.

Vegeta found that he wasn't upset about it in the least.

**(to be continued…)**


	12. Chapter Eleven: seethe

**_The Cursed Idle Mind and Bloody Instinct_**

**_Author's Note:_**_ I really… I mean really did not mean for this to take as long as it did. But you see, my beloved muse Cell got kinda pissed at me for letting my new muse Jak (of the Jak and Daxter video games series) move in. He and Geta actually got pissed at me and left. Although, Geta refuses to admit that he is a muse of mine as well. Anyway, so Jak kinda took up all my writing time… well, since he was the only one that was there! **glares at Cell and Vegeta** Anyway the boys are back and they are seemingly playing nice with Jak. So things are good now. I think…_

_This chapter was really a rehash of the Cell Games yet again. (so it really shouldn't have taken as long as it did) **sighs** Sorry about that again. But there were some major differences at the end right? Oh well, I tried. Off to start the next one peeps. _

**_Chapter Eleven (seethe)_**

Something deep down told him that he should have known this was going to happen. But he had been so sure he was right about Vegeta.

Although really, how did he ever really come to that conclusion? It wasn't like Vegeta ever made it seem as if he cared about anyone. Goku hadn't even known that Bulma and Vegeta were together if it wasn't for Mirai Trunks coming back and telling him that he was their son. Though, the boy really had no clue himself how the two of them had ended up together. But Trunks was all the proof either of them needed. Yet even after the prophecy of the boy's birth had come to true, Goku still couldn't tell that Vegeta had ever cared for Bulma. The emotion was even less visible in Trunks's case.

So you could understand Goku's utter astonishment at what had just occurred.

Vegeta had just saved Cell. That he was sure of if only for the look of utter betrayal that now marred Mirai's face. His wide blues eyes had yet to blink.

Now Goku wasn't near as stupid as some people liked to believe. He was fairly capable of putting facts together and coming up with reasonable conclusions. So here were the facts. He'd found Vegeta naked in the woods a few days ago where he and Cell were supposed to be training. Right. He'd smelled sex and even asked Vegeta if he'd and Cell had done it. And then the prince had laughed and leered at him. Well, he usually considered a response like that as a yes. The next day he'd found Cell (covered in the blood of the king's army) and the guy had completely lost it on him and practically begged him to tell him where Vegeta was.

Yes, those were the facts.

There was only one conclusion one could come to, right? Cell cared about Vegeta. And apparently Vegeta felt something in return.

Though even with all his unknown intelligence Goku had refused to believe it. Vegeta had to have been just horny of course. That some times even happened to him when he was training. He'd figured that it was a normal Saiyan thing. And Cell was part Saiyan right? So Geta had just slept with the android because he was… um… attractive.

As much as it bothered Goku to admit it, it was true.

What did Cell have that Bulma didn't? Really, I mean for one, she was beautiful. And for two, she wasn't a genetically engineered bio android who lived off of the essence of human life until it reached the point where it was capable of destroying the world.

There was absolutely no competition…right?

But maybe that's what Vegeta liked about Cell. There had been a point when the prince had wanted to destroy the earth. Even kill him. Cell wanted those same things. Maybe the earth reared Saiyan was wrong about Vegeta. It seemed clear enough to him that the man was capable of caring for another person. (In Cell's case he used that term loosely)

_"No, Goku that's not right. Cell's a person. Just and evil one. And you must remember that it is not his fault that he is the way he is. It's Dr. Gero's. That evil scientist programmed him to kill people."_

Goku's conscious scolded him for thinking such thought in the first place. Oddly enough it sounded a lot like his Grandpa Gohan.

The Super Saiyan dropped his pronounced frown just long enough to give a defeated sigh. He probably end up having to use force to keep Vegeta from getting in the way again.

He really didn't want it to ever come to this between him and the prince again, the guy would probably try to kill him.

**_oo0oo_**

Cell grinned at his mate's expression. The little prince was watching intensely with dark narrowed eyes, his arms crossed over his chest. The android mentally sent how grateful he was for his lover's assistance but the Saiyan's frown only deepened. Vegeta growled low his throat and walked further away, finding a spot off from the rest of the group.

Cell shook his head slightly and turned back to the task at hand. He sneered in Gohan's direction.

"Now that that's been taken care of… let's get back to the show, shall we?"

The young Super Saiyan was still kneeling on the ground. He was on the verge of tears caused by his utter frustration with his enemy.

"Umm, let's see…" Cell said turning toward the cliff edge where the Z fighters were assembled. "1…2…3…4… 6 in all… all right…"

_"Now what's he doing!" _

Vegeta's question was probably exactly what everyone else was thinking. It didn't take long for them to get their answer however, because before everyone eyes Cell did the unthinkable…

"Oh many god!" The newscaster shrieked. "Cell has just produced six little monsters from his back!"

"What…**_Are_** those!" Piccolo growled.

"Go Cell Juniors. Those six atop that rock are your targets." The bio android spoke to his little minions. "Make them hurt. Kill them, if it makes you happy."

Vegeta's eyes widened in shock, and the grin on Cell's face couldn't have been wider.

"I trust your son is up to the challenge, Vegeta?" He asked, an eye ridge rose in question.

The prince's sneer was the only answer he got. The android turned around just in time to see his Cell Jrs. move in for the kill.

"Watch out!" Goku screamed. "These guys are mean!"

"It's pointless. You can't win." The android chuckled. "They may be small… but they're my children."

**_oo0oo_**

Gohan watched in sheer horror as the little Cellings attacked his friends. They didn't stand and chance and he knew it. His own father was having trouble with the little bastards. He winced as one of the Jrs. lit into Yamcha, easily breaking the man's arm. Krillin was being pounced across the field like he was nothing.

"I'm sorry everybody…" He could hear his father say. "This wasn't how it was supposed to be."

No…no, it wasn't supposed to be this way. They were all going to die and it would be all his fault. His father had put his trust in him and he'd failed. He wanted to beat Cell. But he didn't know how. Where was his great power when he actually needed it? All this supposed strength didn't do him any good if he couldn't use it to save his friends.

**_oo0oo_**

"You've got to be kidding…" Hercule stuttered. "Cell is right next to him!"

"You're the world champion, aren't you?" Android 16 said, his voice even more distorted then usual (being disembodied sort of did that to you). "Don't you want to help?"

The newscaster butted in front of the world's martial arts champion. "Hercule is a **_human_** champion! Th-this is a battle of freaks!"

Hercule's face hardened suddenly. "All right!" he erupted. "I'll do it!"

"Hercule, don't!" the new reporter shrieked. "You'll be killed!"

"Shut up! All these no-names are out there fighting." He yelled. "I'll be a laughing stock if I, the champion, ran away!"

**_oo0oo_**

Cell's cackling only increased with every blow his Cell Jrs. landed.

"P-please stop…"

The android's ears perked up at the sound and he turned toward the source.

"I'm begging you." Gohan said, tears dripping down his dirty face.

Cell smiled cruelly and turned back around with out saying a word to the boy.

"Alright Cell Jrs, enough fooling around! You can kill them now if you want!" He yelled.

Gohan eyes widened. He couldn't believe his ears. He'd begging that bastard! The eleven year old was shaking in rage. He was barely keeping it together. That was when he got the surprise of life, Android 16's head rolled up to him out of nowhere.

"Th-the android…" He gasped.

"Son Gohan," Sixteen began. "It's not a crime to fight for good. There are some who will never listen to words. Feel the anger… set your passions free… I know how you feel… but you don't have to hold back."

"Good advice."

The deep booming voice of Cell snapped Gohan out of his trance but only briefly.

"But I'm trying to do this **_my_** way." Cell growled.

Android 16 ignored him and keep up his encouragement.

"The wild animals and the forests I loved… Don't let them be destroyed…Protect them for me…"

Gohan's tears began to flow more freely. "I…I ca…"

**_Crunch! _**

Before the boy could even mutter the words Cell brought a heavy foot down on what remained of Sixteen.

"Mind your own business… Rust bucket!" The other android snarled.

The change was instantaneous. Gohan had gone from a snivelingly frightened little boy to an outraged, bloodthirsty Saiyan warrior in the span of seconds. Cell was even taken back by the sight of the boy. The android's already large eyes widened even more.

"Wh-What!" Vegeta gasped his eyes widened as well.

"He's… changed…" Cell muttered

Gohan stalked toward his enemy, his power pulsating in the form or streaks of electricity about him. His formerly spiky hair stood up even higher in jagged peaks of white gold.

"Now you're in for it…**_All_**of you." Gohan said evenly. His boyish voice now more ragged.

"So… You've finally shown your true form! This… should be interesting…" Cell said, a smug smile flittering across his pale features.

There was small gust of wind and the android found that he was bare handed. Gohan had snatched the bag of senzus from his hand with out him even detecting it.

**_oo0oo_**

Cell and Vegeta watched similarly dumbfounded as Gohan proceeded to beat the living hell out of the Cell Jrs. with ease. The young Saiyan's assault was brutal and even Vegeta was impressed. Cell growled in frustration and left his lover to watch the carnage alone.

"That serves you right Cell. It's over…" Goku smiled weakly form the spot where he'd fallen.

Vegeta turned to the fallen Saiyan, a look of outrage on his face. He turned back to the stare off that was going on between his mate and Gohan.

"I… I can't believe this… It can't be happening…" 

"Don't get cocky, boy." Cell growled. "You don't **_really_** think you can beat me."

"What do **_you_** think?" Gohan replied.

"Arrogant little snip." The green armored android scoffed. "Well, then, let me show you…Heh… my true, terrible power."

With a warrior's yell Cell unleashed his ki reserves. The force of it knocked everyone else back. Vegeta braced himself against the onslaught but he was not surprised by it. He'd known since they had consummated their bond what his mate was capable of.

The android aura stabilized finally and he glanced around, reveling in the looks of fear he found.

"Well?" He said with a grin. "Now you know!"

"Whoppee."

Cell laughed at the boy's flippant response and charged. The abrupt movement had even surprised Vegeta, but amazingly Gohan had dodged the attack. Cell growled and unleashed a fury of lightning fast blows, none of them hitting their marks. But Gohan's did.

Cell head was ripped back by a well place uppercut and the bio android was sent back staggering and bleeding profusely from his mouth.

"Im-impossible…I can't have been hurt…by just a couple of punches…" 

Vegeta just watched. There was not much he could do for his mate now. He'd gotten his baka self into this mess, he'd have to get himself out.

"You… little…" Cell snarled.

Gohan poignantly ignored the threat and continued to advance on the android. Cell tried a few more kicks, all of which Gohan avoided easily. And with a yell, Cell was sent back flying with one of the boys own. The android skidded to a halt a few meters away. Wearily he got back to his feet…

"He's actually stronger than me… I never thought… such a being could exist in this world."

A demented and bloodied grin grew on the android's face, making Vegeta nervous.

"Heh…But that doesn't mean I **_lose_**."

Gohan and Vegeta watched numbly as Cell ascended rapidly into the air. The familiar chant however, immediately knocked the prince from his reverie.

"Ka…Me…Ha…Me" Cell's voice boomed thought out the canyon. "Yes! A Kamehameha at full power!" the android cackled crazily. "Dodge and the Earth will be pulp!"

The screams for the Z fighters were nothing but white noise to Vegeta. He merely stared on shock.

"Haaaaaa!" The Kamehameha was released.

"He's…he's gone insane." The prince muttered. He turned to Gohan, his eyes narrowed. "Stop him!" He snarled.

Gohan didn't even blink in acknowledgement. But Vegeta was able to hear him over the roar of Cell's attack.

"Kame… Hame…" it began as nothing but a whispered that soon exploded into much more. "HAAAAA!"

The force of the competing attacks created a dust storm. Vegeta was forced back and he lost sight of both of the fighters. The storm soon died down to nothing and he was able to focus again.

There in the sky was his mate. Well, what was left of him anyway.

"That shrimp fired an even bigger Kamehameha…" He gasped before falling to the ground.

His mate had not been able to over power the boy and had suffered greatly for it. He was missing both his legs and one of his arms, his armor was cracked and burned. It also seemed that Vegeta was suffering for the failed attack as well. The prince could no longer feel his legs and he felt as if his own arm had been burned from his body. But they were still there. It had to be the infernal bond. The flame haired prince fell back into the churned sand panting desperately for breath.

_"Cell… you fucking idiot." _

Gohan hadn't even noticed the Saiyan not but a few feet away from him. He was too busy admiring his handiwork.

"Gohan, what are you doing!" Goku screamed. "Finish him!"

"No, dad." The boys smile menacingly. "I don't think I will. I want him to suffer. Suffer just like he made everyone else! He deserves it after everything he's done."

"Wh…what did you say?" Goku said. He was shocked as shit by his son's response that's for sure.

Before Goku could say another word, Vegeta screamed in pain. The answering snarled was echoed up above. Cell was regenerating.

"Y… You are… Gonna pay!" Cell roared

And before everyone ones eyes the android's power rocketed and he tripled in size. He landed on the ground with a thundering stomp, cracking the ground beneath him.

"I will never…" He began as he advanced on the blond boy, seething in pure unadulterated rage. "Lose to and **_thing _**like **_you_**!"

Cell dug a trench in the ground with a power-laced punch. Gohan was able to dodge it with out much effort at all. The new, though apparently not improved Cell howled in frustration and turned to attack again. But someone got in his way…

"Stop this immediately!"

To say everyone jaw dropped would be an understatement.

"Vegeta!" Goku screamed.

The prince only briefly glanced in the third class's direction but refused to move out of Cell's way.

The hulking version of his mate stared at him in outrage. The prince took in the sight with a disgusted sneer. The android was a least three time his normal size. Huge muscles bulged outward; leaving no trace of the lithe creature he had spent the last few days with. The android's large eyes, ones that Vegeta had oddly enough become quite fond of watching were now hideously blood shot.

"You're being stupid!" The small prince said tersely. "Stop this now! There is no way you can win in this form!"

Cell's eyes narrowed. The only thing he could decipher from the prince's words through his hazy rage was that he wanted him to give up.

"I will not let that… thing… win!" The bio android screamed.

Before Vegeta could push the words out of his anger restricted chest, he and said chest found themselves thrown a quite a few feet away and pinned underneath an extremely pissed looking Kakarot.

"Vegeta, what in the hell do you think you're doing!"

**_(to be continued…)_**


	13. Chapter Twelve: detonate

_**The Cursed Idle Mind and Bloody Instinct**_

**_Author's Note: _**_The spark is back. I feel it deep down. My baby lives. I love this fic so much. **(grins) **But it's almost over kiddies. This is the second to the last chapter in this little fic o' mine. I have been considered writing a sequel to this fic for sometime now. Its been an on again off again thing. What with me already having two other epically long fics going on. Let me know what you guys think. Seriously, though I love the idea of the boys together, if no one's interested I won't even bother. Now on to the fic. _

_Chapter Twelve (detonate)_

He didn't know his father. He'd always wanted to. But he had been forced to grow up without him there.

That had always sort of pissed him off.

And when the miracle of modern science occurred. The mysteries of time travel revealed to his mother and he, he'd finally gotten the chance to learn everything he could about the man. He'd memorized every detail no matter how ugly they were. His mother had warned him, told him not to expect too much, or anything at all. But he had believed, he really had. No man, no matter what or who they were was impenetrable.

He had believed.

Trunks had always known he wasn't like his mother. Sure he had her hair, her eyes. But he didn't… feel like she did. He wasn't fragile or soft, small or clumsy. He was Saiyan, more then anything else.

It was when he began training with Gohan that he knew that for sure. He was like his father. He was sure of it. He didn't care what his mother said, his father would understand him and he would understand his father. They were just alike. He'd known it. Always had. And no matter what, he would love and accept his father for everything that he was. No matter what…

But this… he had not counted on this. It was too much, even for him.

He'd figured it out easily from the way his mother had always spoke of his father, the little she had anyway. He knew he was the son that the prince didn't want, the mistake. But he also knew that he was the boy that would do anything to get his father to care about him even just a little bit.

But… This wasn't right… They were supposed to be alike. But… Trunks would never do a thing like this. Pride he understood. Strength, courage… (honor?)… all that he understood… But why?

He was with that monster. He'd chosen that… _thing_ over his wife, his family, his home.

Trunks could feeling the burning behind eyes and shook his head trying to alleviate the pressure. Why couldn't he have cared? What had he done wrong? Why did he have the bastard for a father and Gohan got the hero? What did he do wrong!

It had to be his fault right? Him being here… he was the only thing that had been different this time. He'd ruined everything.

He watched as Vegeta and Goku struggled not far from where Gohan was trouncing the winged android. While his father was fighting viciously to get loose from the taller Saiyan's grip he still took fervent glances in Cell and Gohan's direction.

Gohan was winning his fight but unfortunately it seemed that the boy's father would not. Trunks's father's ki was skyrocketing rapidly.

"Wha…what is he trying to do!" He could hear Yamcha stammering somewhere behind him.

He had been successful in ignoring the previous statements about the mental condition of his father but this one had slipped through during his angstful contemplation. It was a sad thing, but Trunks actually feared the same thing that everyone else did. What if his father did manage to get free from Goku? What if he did stop Gohan from defeating Cell? His own father would be signing the planet's as well as everyone on it… his own family's death certificates.

A terrible thing for a man's own son to have to worry about.

But he could stop him. He could fix it. He sat by and let his father endanger them all before. Never again.

_"He's picked the monster over me."_ Trunks thought. _"Why doesn't he care?" _

He could stop him. He was strong enough now. There was still time. Still a chance to.

"What did I do, father!" He started. **"What did I do wrong!"**

His father wouldn't stand a chance against him.

_"I'm not like him… I will never be." _

Gohan's ear had twitched slightly at the sound of Trunks's screaming demand for an answer but Cell hadn't let up his assault leaving him to only guess at the look on the other demi Saiyan's face. But Goku had made the mistake of letting himself be distracted. The most sickening of the matter was that Vegeta had not and he used the other Saiyan's momentary lapse in concentration against him and broke free. His ki rocketing up to that of an ascended Super Saiyan without so much as a thought. A level that was not actually that much of a threat to the senzu healed Son Goku but enough to knock him back in his stunned state.

But Vegeta now had his opportunity and was off before Goku knew it.

"Vegeta!" The spiky haired man yelled to the blurring form of the prince.

It was that moment that the lavender haired teen's anger grew beyond his control. In an incinerating blast of golden light he immediately topped out to his maximum power level and shot off to put an end to his father's foolishness.

"Father!" He roared and he collided with older man and the two of them went barreling into the ground. Kicking up a storm of dust and rocks.

The ground tore and caved in beneath them, their auras pushing and clashing against one another. The vision of his father was blurring before his eyes, but the anger, raw and all consuming, was winning out against the hurt. He would not cry for this man. He didn't deserve it.

"Stupid boy! Let go of me!"

"No." Trunks growled through clinched teeth.

"I am not asking!" Vegeta roared and uses a sudden flare of his ki to send the two of them toppling over once again.

"I will stop you, father. Even if I have to kill you, I will!" the boy snarled.

The youth's eyes were as hard as steel. There was nothing soft there. Not like before. Vegeta knew the boy would not bend. It was a shame. The boy had shown so much promise. He'd have to kill him now. He was in his way.

"You worthless…"

Before the prince could get the words out, he and Trunks felt the drastic rise of Gohan power and turned just in time to see the devastating kick the boy had planted to the jaw of the hulking, snarling android. Vegeta instantly stopped his thrashing. Trunks looked down at the man in his grip, the prince's pupils were pin pricks, the color in his face fading rapidly.

"Fa…father?"

"No…" It was a breathless, bare whisper. "No!" The prince wailed, thrashing and kicking like an unruly child. "Let me up! Let me up!"

**_oo0oo_**

It hurt. Gods it hurt!

The searing pain was slowly fading into a sagging numbness. And he knew is mouth was hanging open like an oxygen-starved fish. But he couldn't help it. This entire situation had spun completely out of his control.

Gods it fucking hurt!

And his pride had nothing to do with it. He didn't have pride. The good Doctor had made sure of that. He could not have his perfect creation letting something as foolish as pride get in the way of what he had to do. But he had not counted on the fear. Who would have? Androids don't feel fear.

Something… Something was happening. The tight rollicking riot in his stomach was getting worse. He was sweating profusely, his mouth watering uncontrollably. The fucking boy…

"Wha… what have you done to me!"

Cell doubled over, one arm clutching at his middle the other holding his hand to his mouth in vain. He could feel it leaving him. Slipping away from each layer of his skin. Retreating back inside to something…

_"No."_

**"No!" **

Their screams of denial had been simultaneous. He could hear his mate's tortured wail even over his own. He was so weak… it was leaving him. What had that blasted boy done to him!

The pressure grew worse, he could taste the bile on his tongue, something much too big pushing it way up and out of him. It ended with a gush of fluid and a sickening thump.

And there she was. He'd lost her. It was lost to him now. The blasted brat had just cost him everything…

Perfection was lost.

"Is that… Is that Eighteen?" Krillin meeped.

Dimmed crimson orbs stared down, unblinkingly at the form of Android 18 lying on the ground right in front of him. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. Even though the boy was right there. It didn't matter… It was gone… all gone.

A wretched wail ripped it way up through his ruined throat.

And then the fear returned along with the pain. Unspeakable pain…

"He's… reverting back to his Imperfect form!" Piccolo informed everyone.

This wasn't happening. All this time wasted because of some miserable Saiyan mutt.

His body twisted and throbbed. His muscles growing too large and cumbersome, his tail lengthening and protruding form him back. His skin darkened from chalk white to putrid green all in the matter of moments. He was now forced back into his secondary form. Doomed to draw only on the life energy of the all the people he'd absorbed and the lone Android 17.

He was relegated to this flawed existence. He would not let it end this way. But what could he do now?

He could feel them all watching them waiting to see what he would do now. Vegeta… he knew that the fear the prince was currently suffering through was his own. But the way he was looking at him. He could see the prince's utter disgust with him. His heart sunk… a flash of disappointment he could not hide in time slithered through. It didn't matter now. He couldn't be bothered to worry about that a the moment.

The half-breed was looking at him. A self-satisfied smirk on his young face.

"Heh… figures." Gohan scoffed. "I guess that's it for you then."

"No… I… won't…" he grimaced at the sound of his own voice, garbled and hoarse as it was. "I won't accept this!"

"Oh but you will." The boy smiled menacingly and stepped towards him.

"No, you stay away from me! You… you monster!"

The smile grew on Gohan's face. "Look who's talking."

**_oo0oo_**

It all had happened so quickly. One minute he was being pinned to the ground by his idiot future son and screaming at the top of his lungs in fear… fear the suspiciously didn't feel like it belonged to him, but real fear just the same. The next, he was sitting Indiana style on the dusty ground staring at Kakarot and his crew of cronies, staring at Gohan who was staring at his mate. His mate, who now happed to be the size of a small planet was chuckling about how he was going to blow up the entire planet because he was pissed that that little bastard of Kakarot's had handed him his ass.

**_Sigh_**

It was great that he was feeling a little bit more like himself because now he could really appreciate the ridiculousness of the situation.

The bond was going to be the death of him… literally. Maybe it was for the best. So Vegeta just sat there and waited.

He just sat there and watched as Gohan cried like some sort of wounded animal when he'd realized that he'd fucked up and let the android get the upper hand. He just sat there and watched when Kakarot had stepped in and saved his son along with the rest of the planet. He just sat there and watched when the third class idiot of a Saiyan disappeared into thin air with his mate. He just sat there… and said absolutely nothing when his rival and his bonded mated disappeared leaving him behind to have to deal with the annoying screams and cries of the people left behind.

He should have been pissed right? He should have been sad, right? He should have felt… something… at least. Right?

This was certainly anti climatic.

The prince just stood up in the sand and watched in a sort of detached interest as the little bald monk finally released the death grip he had on the girl android and walked over to the crumpled form of Kakarot's brat who was bawling his little eyes out. If he remembered correctly, which he usually did, the little half-breed should be used to his father dying on him by now.

He turned from the sickening display of emotion with a look of distain. Though, it was odd that he himself didn't quite feel… anything. This mate was dead; at least he thought so. He should feel something. Not that he would let everyone else know he did, but…

He could feel eyes burrowing into the back of his head and turned around to the angry face of his son. The blue eyes were just screaming: _"This is all you fault!" _

Of course it wasn't. It was that stupid android's fault.

His… stupid android's fault.

"Stupid boy, if you would have just let me stop him, this wouldn't have happened." Vegeta growled at the boy.

Trunks's eyes widened in disbelief.

But before the boy could retaliate, something started. The air around them all began to churn, the sky darkened and then…

"Th… That ki…" Vegeta muttered in a state of shock.

"It can't be!" The lavender haired youth yelled.

It was the last thing the boy got out before the energy beam tore through his chest, sending an arch of blood and shards of armor flying. Trunks was thrown to the ground with a violent thump. Then that voice, he knew that voice anywhere.

"Who did I hit?" The accent was back. That accent he had grown so found of. "Ah Trunks…"

Vegeta didn't even try to hide the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. His mate was back, in all his perfect glory. He should be happy… right? He was… Elated actually.

But why did it feel so… wrong.

**_(to be continued…)_**


	14. Chapter Thirteen: terminate

_**The Cursed Idle Mind and Bloody Instinct**_

**_Author's Note: _**_This is the end of the line kiddies. Yep, this is the final chapter of this epic saga. I'd like to thank you all for reading and putting up with my sporadic updates. Vegeta and Cell mightily appreciate your patience. Oh and don't forget to read the Epilogue after this chapter. It's up now too. And there will be a sequel…eventually. Well, enjoy the rest of the show._

_Chapter Thirteen (terminate)_

It felt so wonderful to be back. Truly it did. He was positively giddy. And he could tell that his mate was secretly pleased about this fact as well.

"Wh-Why!" Somewhere near by, Cell could hear that useless human Yamcha stuttering. "Why is it alive!"

There was a bored sigh from the bio-android. Of course he'd have to explain. What was the point of being perfect if every one else seemed to be oblivious of your might?

"You seem surprised!" The pale skinned cyborg chuckled. "I was too. Quite a stroke of luck on my part."

Thus, Cell went on to explain how if the small cluster of cells that made up his "core" remained intact he'd able to regenerate no matter how little there was of himself left. And to add insult to injury, he took great pleasure in revealing the fact that he was once again at full strength thanks to the Saiyan cells that were included in his design. He also did not fail to mention that to top all of this off he had also had the great fortune to have picked up a little trick from Son Goku as well.

"I've learned to teleport." He said a vicious grin twisting his features. "So I've come back more perfect than ever. Son Goku didn't defeat me at all. He just made me better."

Vegeta smirked. "That third class idiot."

Served that fool right to have gone and done all this for nothing. The android was still in once piece and even more menacing then ever. The prince was however a little peeved about not having the ability to use instant transmission while his mate suddenly did. Cell must have picked up on the random thought and turned to him with a knowing smile.

_"Patience, my prince. Once I finish off these pests we'll have plenty of time for more play." _

Vegeta snorted in dismissal.

_"Hurry up then and finish the boy. You've dragged this out long enough." _

Though he had no idea of the silent conversation going on between Cell and Vegeta, Krillin couldn't help but notice that Vegeta hadn't been phased in the least about the fact that Cell had just utterly obliterated Trunks. True enough, the prince hadn't shown any signs of affection toward the boy since his arrival. Not a huge surprise there, but this was just too much for Krillin just to let go unacknowledged.

What the hell was Vegeta's problem anyway?

"Vegeta! Are you just gonna stand there!" Krillin yelled. "That monster just murdered your son!"

The prince's narrowed eyes were on the bald man in an instant.

There was a flutter of a thought. And emotion too quickly repressed and it had thoroughly pissed the android off. His mate was hiding something from him. If the blasted weakling human would have kept his mouth shut.

Ingrained evil tendencies aside, he hadn't meant to kill the boy. Death and destruction was what he did, but for some reason he couldn't quite get as much enjoyment out of this kill as he usually did. Yes, the blood, the way it had arched in the air, the way the boy's eyes had widened in such disbelief… It should have felt… differently.

Blasted boy. Blasted useless emotions!

Vegeta's eyes were on him in an instant; there was a brief spark of understanding that passed between them and then…

"Mind you own business, baldy and tend to that heap of scrap of yours!" The Saiyan prince barked. "If the boy was half as useful as you seem to think he was he wouldn't have been foolish enough to have been hit in the first place."

Oh. Kay. Now that was cold. Even for Vegeta. Krillin was speechless, Yamcha and Tien's eyes widened in horror. Piccolo on the other hand didn't seemed at all affected. The Namekian had learned long ago not to get his hopes up when it came to the Saiyan prince.

"But, Vegeta…" Krillin tried.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" Tien yelled. "You heartless bastard!"

"I knew it!" Yamcha wailed. "He's taking Cell's side! We're fucking doomed. Without Goku…"

Yamcha was cut off however by a gust of wind and a bright flash of light. Gohan had powered up and he seemed to be thoroughly amused by something as well.

"Heh… I think there's something you're not telling us Vegeta." The boy said with a manically grin.

Vegeta was taken back by the remark. Had little Gohan just said that to him?

The prince smirked. The boy was becoming more and more Saiyan by the moment.

"What's so funny?" Cell interrupted. "Have you gone insane?"

"My dad died because I was arrogant. I'm glad I can avenge his death." The boy replied. "I just wish I had killed you earlier."

Vegeta stared at the pale skinned android and with his smirk still intact, stepped aside. "This is your show android. We are all just spectators. But do make this quick. I grew bored with all this talk."

"Vegeta's right." Gohan growled as he sank down into a battle stance. "It's time to put an end to this once and for all."

Cell rose what passed for a brow on his armored head. "You can't be serious?"

Gohan continued to glare at him nonplused.

"Fine, you foolish little brat. You'll meet the same end as your father. You'll pay for underestimating me, just as Goku did."

Before Cell could take his own fighting stance, Gohan erupted in a blind fury. The boy bombarded the android with a flurry of ki attacks. He was blinded by rage. It seemed that Cell's last words had stuck quite the nerve. The attack was so ruthless, so utterly brutal that the other Z fighters as well as Vegeta were forced to take cover as well. Tien and Yamcha pulled the lifeless body of Trunks behind a few remaining boulders in hopes of waiting out the attack. Krillin did the same with Android 18.

"What is he doing!" Krillin screamed. "He's completely lost it!"

Piccolo grunted in agreement. This wasn't like Gohan at all. He was usually more level headed then this. This was not the first time that the boy had lost his father. There was no excuse for this type of negligence. He had taught Gohan better than that. Goku had taught the boy better than that. What was he thinking?

But as much as Piccolo thought he knew the boy, he had no clue about the depth of Gohan's emotions. This had nothing to do with a fair fight anymore. This was revenge, pure and simple. Fueled by the rage of a Super Saiyan, despite what Vegeta had to say on the matter, the epitome of instability.

The Kais help them all.

It seemed like an eternity later that Gohan had finally reached his limit. The last ki blast was fired and the boy was breathless.

The enormous cloud of smoke and dust the attack had created was still lingering over them all. It was impossible to see anything but the steady glow of Gohan's aura as he struggled to keep aloft above them.

"Go-Gohan?" Krillin meeped.

There was silence. The eerie type that hung in the air right before something awful happened. Gohan's ear barely twitched but by then it was already much too late.

**_WOK!_**

Before he knew it Gohan's head snapped to side, pain searing from the source throughout his entire body. The young Super Saiyan was sent flying to the side and collided violently with the earth. Sending rock and rumble up in his wake.

Cell hadn't been phased one bit by the boy's temper tantrum and the blow he'd just given the youth was proof enough.

"Stupid boy." Cell said as he casually dusted off his armor. "What could you have been thinking!"

"Gohan!" Piccolo yelled and shot over to the fallen Super Saiyan.

While all this madness was occurring Cell took it as an opportunity to rid himself of Gohan once and for all. The android charged up and sent a devastating ki attack the boy's way.

The beam was heading straight for Piccolo however, who was on his way to check on his student. Even in his injured state, the boy was still aware enough…

"No!" He groaned.

It all happened to fast to catch, but when the dust cleared. Piccolo was on the ground a ways off and Gohan amazingly was standing. But the blast had apparently done some damage. The boy's left arm was hanging uselessly at his side, and he was now taking in large gulps of air.

"Gohan!" Piccolo said climbing back to his feet.

"Heh… Oh well," Cell chuckled. "Enough fooling around. I've let this go on too long."

"Don't we have anymore senzu!" Piccolo asked in fit of desperation.

"W-we used them all up…" Krillin said, eyeing both Cell and Gohan worriedly.

It was then that Cell began the motions for a most familiar technique…

"None of you will walk away."

The energy the android was generating was outrageous.

"Ka…Me…"

Gohan looked on helplessly.

"Ha…"

Vegeta simply watched. The boy seemed to have given up already. Perhaps he'd been wrong about this brat as well. Useless half-breeds…

The rest of the Z fighters looked on helplessly from the sidelines.

"C-curse it…Curse it!" Piccolo wailed. "I curse our powerlessness."

"Come on Son Gohan!" Cell screamed over the roar of his own ki. "Make your last stand!"

Gohan just stared.

"…Just get it over with… I know it's pointless to resist. I just wish I'd been able to finish you first…" The boy replied.

It seemed to Vegeta they all had pretty much resigned themselves to death. The prince's lip curled in disgust. He couldn't say that he blamed the boy, after Gohan had taken that blast head on to protect that worthless Namekian, the boy's power level had dropped dramatically.

"D…Dad!" Gohan suddenly whipped his head around. "B-but where **_are_** you!"

_"What the hell…"_ Vegeta muttered.

And it seemed Cell shared the sentiment. In fact, everyone else seemed to as well. Gohan didn't seem to notice. Even in the face of certain destruction the boy continued his seemingly one-sided conversation.

"Got it!" He yelled finally before kneeling and taking that familiar stance. "Ka…Me…Ha…Me…"

Cell didn't seem too impressed by Gohan's newfound determination. The two of them locked eyes. Neither of them was going to back down it seemed.

"It's no good!" Piccolo yelled over all the noise. "He can't win! Gohan's ki is too weak!"

Cell seemed inclined to agree and he broke into a laugh, "Die!"

Cell finally release his super charged Kamehameha just as Gohan released one of his own. And it most definitely surprised them all in its strength. Piccolo and the others looked on dumbfounded. Where had Gohan gotten all that power? But the debate was put on hold as the two Kamehamehas met each other in the middle. The impact was enough to shake the entire earth and the Z fighters were sent back flying.

Vegeta was forced to shield his eyes from the intense glare. It was unthinkable. Gohan's power level had sky rocketed with in moments. He was actually giving the android a run for his money. It was in these moments that seldom felt emotion began to creep over the prince. It settled uncomfortably in his chest. He grit his teeth and stood up straight.

It was fear. Fear for so many things…

Cell was loosing ground. He was forcing his power lever higher.

_"What are you doing?"_ Vegeta asked, the strain evident even in his mental voice.

The android barely spared him an answer. "I'm winning."

"You'll destroy the entire planet you fool!" He yelled aloud.

"Then so be it!" Cell screamed. "I will not lose to this child!"

**_oo0oo_**

He was floating there, just barely there. Chest heaving and no recollection of what he'd done. His hand was still out stretched, fingers curling in. He saw it there in front of him but he couldn't feel it.

It was over.

Vegeta crumpled to the ground in an exhausted heap.

What had he done?

He looked around at all the shocked faces.

"He did it?" Piccolo was completely awestruck.

With that Yamcha exploded, "Yes! Yes! He did it!"

Vegeta watched as the human fighter knelt down to pick the boy off the ground. Gohan's hair was dark again much like his own. It had taken all their power to…

The Saiyan turn to the huge gouge in the earth. The exact spot where his mate had been standing not long ago.

He'd had no choice. The android had been crazed. Cell would have destroyed the entire planet the both of them included. It was simple self-preservation. He'd had no choice.

It was over. So why was that uncomfortable feeling still settled in his chest.

He stood wearily to his feet. He didn't even notice the Namek's approach.

"I'll give you a hand, Vegeta."

He grit his teeth but he hadn't the energy for another fight. "Mind your own business. I don't need your help. Tend to that boy of yours."

Piccolo turned away without uttering a word and left with the others. They were all off to celebrate the defeat of the world's greatest threat. And to use those blasted Dragon balls to set things right again. They were probably going to wish everyone back from the dead as well. Kakarot and his brat included.

Vegeta snorted, hand blindly going to his shoulder.

It wasn't like he gave a damn one way or the other.

**_(to be continued…)_**


	15. Epilogue: fracture

**_The Cursed Idle Mind and Bloody Instinct_**

_Epilogue (fracture)_

She cursed herself for not seeing it before. But for all her intelligence she had been stupid. Stupid and blind. They had warned her that something was wrong. Yamcha had told her all about the man's strange behavior. Hell, she'd seen some of it herself over the broadcast. But that had been nothing. She had smiled and told Yamcha that it was just like Vegeta to be so selfish. That he had only interfered so many times because he had wanted the glory of taking out Earth's greatest threat himself.

_"Oh but you knew better."_

Her own mind was against her now. She kicked aside a broken keyboard as she ventured further into the ruined laboratory.

Why had she been so foolish?

_"You caught him. You saw him with that… thing." _

She did not want to think about it, but there was no use in fighting it now. It was the cold hard truth. Vegeta, her Vegeta had gone completely insane. And he'd been that way for a long time now. How else could it have been explained? The father of her child, she'd caught him fucking that awful man… thing… android. Whatever the hell it truly had been. And ever since the day that creature died, the man had been a behaving like a walking ghost.

Bulma had been used to rarely seeing him. As he was always locked away in that Kami damned gravity chamber. But then he would at least come and find her every once in a while for what she had begun to call congical visits. Or she would sometimes be granted his presence at the dinner table. But after the Cell Games, things had changed for the worse.

She had convinced herself that maybe the prince had been upset because of the passing of his rival. Hell, she'd been hysterical herself. It was that much more comforting to know that the man she loved was experiencing the pain of the loss as well. But even then deep down she knew. Vegeta could care less that Goku was dead.

It was that accursed creature he was mourning.

He was upset because Gohan had killed Cell, the same monster that had slaughtered his own son… their son. He was all broken up because that fucking monster had gotten exactly what he had deserved for all the pain he'd caused.

All along he had been mourning that murderous bastard.

But this of course didn't really make any sense either. Vegeta had practically put the nail in that monster's coffin. He'd helped Gohan defeat Cell. At least that's what Yamcha had told her. This just didn't make any sense at all.

Unless… Vegeta felt guilty. Did he really regret murdering that vicious creature in favor of saving the entire planet?

Even the thought seemed completely ridiculous.

Vegeta loved himself more than anything else. Of course he'd even murder his fuck buddy in favor of saving his own life.

This of course still did nothing to explain the man's subsequent behavior.

Bulma was so wrapped up in the mess of her own thoughts that she didn't even realize she as crying until she reached the wall safe. The beaten in plaster and steel blurring and slurring together. She'd built it tough but had known good and well that if Vegeta was ever able to locate it, all the Capsule Corp engineered steel in the world wouldn't be able to keep the man out.

She sighed miserably and reached in her pocket for her cell phone.

"Oh Vegeta…" she sniffed. "What did I do so wrong to make you turn to that monster?"

The phone began to ring and she pressed it to her ear.

"Hello… Chichi… Is Gohan there?"

_**(End.)**_


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